What is Application Rationalization?

Application rationalization is the practice of strategically identifying and cataloging business applications to determine which applications you should keep, replace, retire, or consolidate. As a result, application rationalization helps lower costs and improves efficiency.

In this installment, we break down exactly what goes into application rationalization.

How to Build a Successful Application Rationalization Process?

This application rationalization process requires six steps.

Step 1: Identify your company’s needs

The first step in your application rationalization process is working with critical stakeholders to conduct an assessment of your organization’s needs.

Step 2: Run an application inventory

The goal of the inventory is to identify what applications exist, who’s using them, and how everything is deployed. 

Step 3: Perform an application performance assessment

Analyze the quality, technical fit, business value, and return on investment for each application. This is also a good time to review the application inventory to identify dependencies and duplication.

Step 4: Assess the cost of each application

In addition to knowing how much use each application is getting and how it fits in your overall process, you need to be aware of the total cost of each application. Make sure to take into consideration end-of-contract dates. 

Step 5: Score applications 

Based on the business value, technical fit, and cost, score all applications and determine whether each should be kept, reviewed, removed, or refreshed. 

Step 6: Streamlining

Rank your applications based on their value and functional fitness within the organization, remove low-value applications, or replace them with modern, high-business-value applications. 

Once your overall app rationalization process is complete, make sure to do an entire application inventory once or twice per year. We recommend developing an application migration strategy for future iterations. 

Once your overall app rationalization process is complete, make sure to do an entire application inventory once or twice per year.

Does Your Organization Need Application Rationalization?

It helps support your short and long-term efficiency goals. The benefits of application rationalization include:

• Reduce IT costs: IT application rationalization decreases complexity and lowers IT spend
• Save time on training: fewer applications means less training, less support, and less maintenance!
• Increase efficiency: streamline your applications to encourage team members to become more familiar with them and use them to their full potential

LoadSpring can support your application rationalization process by providing you with the right mix of software that your teams need. Before you decide on your mix, your end users can test the software to choose the right solutions. We take the time to assist with your application rationalization, build a secure and fully supported ecosystem, and ensure your software is deployed quickly to your teams. Contact us to learn more!

LoadSpring’s expertise in managed cloud services is unequaled. If you’d like to find out more, click here to contact us today. Or call us directly: US + 1 978-685-9715 | UK + 44 800 088 5889.