Application Portfolio Rationalization Software

Determine Your Desired Outcomes

Quickly and easily determine the outcomes you’re interested in achieving, including reducing technical debt, modernizing applications, preparing for Information Governance, migrating to the Cloud, consolidating Data Centers, and more.

• Typically, some combination of Outcomes, some weighted more heavily than others
• Determine success measures, what proportion of each Measure must be achieved to be considered “successful”
• Outcomes will drive patterns, that will in turn determine the questions to be asked of the survey population
• In the example shown, Cloud Migration and closing Data Centers are of primary importance, followed by Overall Cost Reduction, then Information Governance and Technical Debt Reduction. Application Modernization will be a likely side-effect but not a primary driver

Gather Inventories

Consolidate and streamline the standardized capture of inventories across a wide variety of dimensions.

• Inventories can come from many sources:
  • Existing Repositories
  • Configuration Management Databases
  • Spreadsheets
  • Finance Catalogs
• They can all be easily imported into 360 Enterprise Connect, and then cross-referenced and validated

Model the Business

The imported content forms the foundation for rationalization, and allows us to build the visual anchors for many relevant viewpoints including:

• Business Capability (“What” the business does)
• Value Streams and Processes (“How” the business works and can be improved)
• Information Landscapes (“The Stuff” of the Business, what is important)
• Organizational Landscapes (“Who” is involved, and how Value flows across the organization)
• Technology Reference Models (The supporting Technologies that are the foundation for your IT Department)

Distribute Surveys

360 Enterprise Connect has a unique and powerful fully-integrated Survey Tool, which allows you to:

• Quickly and easily build surveys to collect the information you need
• Distribute the surveys to all relevant Stakeholders, including external Partners and Suppliers
• Collect the results, resolve conflicts and capture the findings back into the Insight Repository
• Track metrics such as completion ratios, time-to-complete, etc.
• Gather Application Intake through easy-to-use forms that do not require users to have direct access to 360 Enterprise Connect

Analyze Findings

As the survey results start to come in, they can immediately add value in a number of areas:

• Sentiment Analysis can show you the types of responses you are receiving, and if necessary, the questions can be revisited to ensure appropriate coverage
• Heat Maps can be automatically generated using a variety of base models such as Business Capabilities, Information Landscapes, Value Streams, Organizational Views and Technical Reference Models
• Application Value Charts (“TIME Charts”) can show the relative disposition of the Applications in one or many Portfolios
• The Criteria for all these Charts and Models can be adjusted on-the-fly to support rich analysis and to compare scenarios to support discovery of
  • Functional Redundancy
  • Strategic Fit
  • Application Business and Technical Health

Plan & Execute Strategy

Once sufficient responses have been returned, the Chart and Models from the previous step can be used to develop:

• Business Cases
• Programs and Projects
• Migration Strategies
• Business Capability Maturity Plans
• Etc.

All of which can be integrated into our 360 Portfolio Insights solution for seamless Strategy-to-Execution delivery

Standardize and Repeat

Not just a one-off, this approach can form a powerful foundation for evergreening

• Surveys can be refined and reused periodically
• The future state models become current state, and can then be used as the basis for future iterations
• While cloud migration or data center consolidation may be one-time events, many of the other dimensions such as Cost Reduction, Technology Modernization and Process Improvement will continue to add value each time they are undertaken