Article

Rationalize Your Application Portfolio

Philip Henery

February 12, 2025

Establish an evergreen application portfolio management (APM) program to deliver the best possible return on investment.

The Issue:

When organizations consider application oversight as a low priority and app portfolio knowledge is poor:

• No dedicated or centralized effort to manage the app portfolio means no single source of truth is available to support informed
  decision-making.
• Organizations acquire more applications over time, creating redundancy, waste, and the need for additional support.
• Organizations are more vulnerable to changing markets. Flexibility and growth are compromised when applications are unadaptable
  or cannot be scaled.

Our Insights:

• You cannot outsource application strategy.
• Modern software options have lessened the need for organizations to have robust in-house application management capabilities. But your applications’ future and governance of the portfolio still require centralized oversight to ensure the best overall return on investment.
• Application portfolio management is the mechanism to ensure that the applications in your enterprise are delivering value and support for your value streams and business capabilities. Understanding value, satisfaction, technical health, and total cost of ownership are critical to digital transformation, modernization, and roadmaps.

Build an APM program that is ready for action and fit for size:

• Understand your current state, needs, and goals for your application portfolio management.
• Create an application and platform inventory that is built for better decision-making.
• Rationalize your apps with business priorities and communicate risk in operational terms.
• Create a roadmap that improves communication between those who own, manage, and support your applications.

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About the Author

Philip Henery

Marketing Administrator

Philip is a writer, editor, voiceover narrator, and producer of several forms of media from news articles to biographies, novels, podcasts, and even local music artists. He is ROCIMG's Marketing Administrator, and is partially responsible for pushing his company's presence to the forefront of their localized industry.