Why IT Problems Are Rarely Tool Problems
Category: IT Fundamentals | MSP Learnings
Author: Jaspreet Singh
Reading time: ~6–7 minutes
Introduction
When something breaks in IT, the first reaction is often:
- “We need a better tool.”
- “This product isn’t working.”
- “Let’s replace the system.”
In most cases, tools are not the real cause of IT problems.
Instead, these problems usually come from design choices, wrong assumptions, or missing basics. (Ou et al., 2022)
This post will show why focusing only on tools doesn’t work, and how thinking in terms of bigger concepts can help you solve problems at their source.
The Tool Fallacy in IT
It’s easy to blame tools because they’re what we see first.But tools usually just sit on top of deeper issues, such as:
- Architecture
- Identity
- Network flow
- Human behavior
- Operational process
If you swap out a tool without fixing the real issue underneath, the problem just shows up somewhere else instead of going away. (Mao et al., 2025)
Abstract View of an IT System
At a high level, every IT system consists of:
Identity – Who is allowed
Access – From where and how
Data – What is being accessed
Process – How work is done
Monitoring – How failures are detected
Tools only operate inside these layers — they don’t define them.
Example 1: “Our VPN Is Unreliable”
Common response:
Replace the firewall or VPN product.
Actual root causes (abstracted):
- Split tunneling misunderstanding
- DNS resolution issues
- Identity timeouts
- Poor client routing
- MFA misalignment
The VPN tool wasn’t the real problem. The real issues were with network flow and how identity was set up. (Cisco IT Case Study: Scalable VPN Remote Access, 2025)
Example 2: “Email Security Keeps Failing”
Common response:
Buy another email security product.
Actual root causes:
- Legacy authentication is still enabled
- Weak conditional access
- Over-trusted users
- No blast-radius control
Filtering wasn’t the real issue. The real problem was that trust boundaries were set up incorrectly. (Security Misconfigurations and How to Prevent Them, 2021, pp. 13-16)
Example 3: “Cloud Costs Are Out of Control”
Common response:
Cloud is too expensive.
Actual root causes:
- No ownership model
- No lifecycle policies
- No environment separation
- No visibility into consumer Cloud pricing wasn’t the real problem. The real issue was a lack of good governance. (Mazula & Lamprecht, 2023).
Why Abstraction Makes You a Better IT Professional
When you think abstractly, you stop asking:
“What product should we use?”
And start asking:
- What problem are we actually solving?
- Which layer is failing?
- Where is trust being assumed incorrectly?
- What happens when this component fails?
This mindset separates:
- Admins from architects
- Tool users from system designers
The MSP Perspective: Tools Don’t Scale, Principles Do
MSPs managing multiple environments quickly learn this truth:
- Every client uses different tools.
- But the same problems repeat.
Why?Because the abstractions are identical, even when the products are not. (Maintaining Governance and Security in Multi-Tool Environments, 2020)
Once you understand the pattern:
- Tool choice becomes easier.
- Troubleshooting becomes faster
- Decisions become defensible
Practical Takeaways
Instead of adding more tools
:✔ Fix identity first
✔ Define trust boundaries
✔ Reduce unnecessary access
✔ Design for failure
✔ Monitor what matters
Tools should help your design, not take its place.
Final Thoughts
IT maturity is not measured by:
- Number of tools
- Vendor logos
- Feature lists
It’s measured by:
- Clarity of design
- Simplicity of systems
- Predictability of failure
- Speed of recovery (Shankar, 2012)
When you fix the basics, tools stop causing problems and start making your work easier.
Author Note
Jaspreet Singh Author @ ITBlogs.ca Identity & Cloud Security (Hands-on, not theoretical)