SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (8/21/15)--A new research report from management consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors finds that as credit unions and banks struggle with an overload of technology projects, the remedy is having more technology--not less technology.

“Technology Management Complexity: Drowning in a Sea of Technology Projects” found that half of the 252 surveyed senior executives at U.S.-based financial institutions cite "too many projects" as a top technology concern for 2015.

Credit unions, which are more likely to rely on vendor software than larger institutions with in-house developed applications, often have less complex information technology (IT) architectures to manage, according to the report.

Credit unions face a different kind of complexity, however--technology management complexity, which is defined as the degree to which management is challenged to make coordinated, interdependent IT decisions.

Technology management complexity stems from a proliferation of IT projects, a multitude of potentially conflicting IT objectives and concerns, and the pressure to deliver measurable business results from IT investments.

The paradox of technology management complexity is that as the number of projects a financial institution funds and increases staff, the likelihood that the projects will fall short of achieving their intended business benefits also increases--unless the financial institution has strong technology complexity management capabilities, according to Ron Shevlin, Cornerstone Advisors research director.

The report includes recommendations aimed at helping financial institutions better manage technology complexity, projects and contract negotiations as well as a scorecard financial institutions can use to assess their levels of technology management complexity.