The "stack struggle": How brands are managing huge numbers of applications in their stack
by Sarah Toms-Retail Growth Director|Mon Oct 20 2025
Before talking to any brand about mobile as a channel, there’s one thing I always ask: “Show me your stack.”
Understanding where mobile fits into the wider omnichannel ecosystem is fundamental to everything that comes next — how we’re going to build it, how it’s going to connect to the rest of the customer experience, and ultimately, how much effort and resource will be required.
It’s usually followed by a mix of reactions such as "We might keep that,” and “That one doesn’t work,” and “That needs to stay,” or my personal favourite, “Marketing like that one.”
The truth is, every brand’s tech stack tells a story. A story of evolution, quick fixes, shiny-object purchases, and a constant tug of war between innovation and consolidation.
The stack struggle
The average company today runs 100s of applications in its tech stack.
I really don’t envy Marketing Directors, Digital Directors, CTOs, or anyone involved in the procurement of new technology within a brand, because what looks like progress on paper often feels like chaos in practice.
Only 33% of tech stack tools are actively used, meaning two-thirds of the stack sits idle, under-utilised, or completely redundant. Unfortunately, the value locked inside those feature sets can be ten times higher than currently realised, revealing a massive efficiency gap.
Knowing this, it also comes as no surprise that 80% of companies run overlapping tools. Duplication sometimes protects existing revenue streams or reduces risk in core systems, but in reality, it often drives unnecessary cost and complexity.
With the explosion of AI tools (a whopping 2000 new AI-specific tools launched last year alone) CIOs, CMOs and CTOs are under even more pressure to prove ROI and consolidate what they already have. It’s never been harder to know which tools to keep, kill, or combine.
So, how do you move from accidental stack composition to intentional, value-driven design?
Optimistic at Opticon
I was at Opticon in London last week, Optimizely's annual conference for digital leaders, professionals, and thought leaders to discuss trends, share insights, and connect.
I was keen to hear how Frans Riemersma, Founder of MartechTribe, and Mark Wakelin, Director of Strategy & Value at Optimizely, see the latest trends shaping this challenge — particularly the shift toward composable marketing stacks and how AI is accelerating it.
Their session framed the future of MarTech architecture as a hybrid “composable suite” model designed for flexibility, stability and innovation.
Frans used a brilliant analogy, which simplified it for the non-techies in the room (i.e. me), he explained, “Your stack should be designed like a solar system.”
At the centre is your “sun” (typically your cloud data warehouse or CMS) surrounded by specialised “planets” (core platforms) and experimental “moons” for innovation.
He broke this down, explaining:
The centre stack integrates over 50% of your other tools, acting as the hub for client data and interactions.
The outer rim tools serve as laboratories or safe spaces to test new capabilities without disrupting the core.
This layered approach balances stability with experimentation, allowing for progress without chaos.
Frans and Mark also described designing a stack around the content lifecycle of production, delivery, personalisation, and analytics, surrounded by specialist and experimental tools.
Core platforms should last 5–10 years because of the heavy lift to implement and integrate them. But experimentation, they argued, should be an ongoing “fail fast” mindset where only 5% of experiments succeed, yet those few wins drive meaningful innovation.
From chaos to clarity
A few standout recommendations that really resonated with me included:
Never implement a new tool without a decommissioning plan. Every addition should replace or enhance something that already exists rather than just adding more noise.
Experimentation is the antidote to uncertainty and structured curiosity is essential. Controlled experimentation protects the core while fuelling discovery.
Ultimately, this approach shifts brands from accidental stacks to strategically composed ecosystems. This allows them to balance cost, capability, and flexibility, while creating a foundation for meaningful personalisation and richer customer experiences.
The mobile perspective
At Apadmi, we see this challenge every day.
When brands come to us to build or optimise their mobile app, it’s rarely just about the app. It’s about making sure mobile sits at the centre of the customer experience.
That means understanding where (and why) it connects across loyalty, CRM, CMS, eCommerce, analytics, and everything in between, then designing the stack around value, not volume.
The brands getting this right aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the longest list of tools. They’re the ones with intentional design, disciplined experimentation, and a clear view of what sits at the centre of their solar system.
Looking to better organise your mobile solar system? We'd love to chat about your stack and see how you can get more business value from mobile.
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