The 5 Biggest Pitfalls in Application Management – and How to Avoid Them
Managing an application landscape is one of the most complex challenges for IT and application teams. Applications are rapidly introduced to meet specific organizational needs, but over time, the IT landscape evolves into a fragmented collection of business information systems, tools, and integrations. Many organizations fall into the same pitfalls, leading to inefficiencies, increased costs, and a lack of control. In this article, we highlight the five most common mistakes in application management and how IT teams can avoid them.
1. An Incomplete or Outdated Overview of the Application Landscape
Many organizations do not have an up-to-date and complete overview of their applications. Often, they attempt to manage this through an Excel list or another static document, but such lists quickly become outdated and are not consistently maintained. Additionally, shadow IT is prevalent in most organizations, with departments independently purchasing software without IT having sufficient visibility. As a result, redundant applications remain in use, leading to duplicate functionalities and unnecessary costs. (Data) security is more difficult to manage, compliance risks increase due to undocumented software usage, maintenance becomes more complex, and IT teams spend excessive time troubleshooting compatibility issues between outdated and unsupported applications.
Professional application management requires a centralized and dynamic record of all applications, including ownership, integrations, contract information, and security status. This prevents surprises and ensures that IT teams can act proactively.
2. Unclear Ownership and Weak Governance
Many IT teams do not have clearly defined responsibilities when it comes to application management. A lack of ownership results in delays in decisions about renewing, replacing, or phasing out applications, leading to undesirable consequences. Outdated applications remain in use, unnecessary licenses are renewed, and a strategic vision for the application landscape is missing.
A structured governance model is essential. Each application should have a clearly defined technical owner and business owner. By establishing and regularly evaluating these roles, organizations gain control over their application landscape and can make timely and well-considered decisions.
3. Lack of Regular Application Evaluations
Many applications are introduced to solve a specific problem but are rarely reassessed afterward. As a result, applications remain in use for years, even when they are no longer needed or when better alternatives become available.
To prevent this, it is essential to conduct periodic evaluations of the application landscape while ensuring the necessary governance within the team. This involves critically assessing the usage and value of each application. Key questions include: Is the application still actively used? Does it contribute to business objectives? Are there more efficient or cost-effective alternatives? By systematically incorporating these analyses and defining clear responsibilities, IT landscapes can be optimized, and unnecessary costs can be avoided.
4. Poor Insight into Application Integrations and Dependencies
Modern IT landscapes consist of numerous interdependent applications. A configuration change in one application can impact other systems without prior visibility. This can lead to disruptions and unexpected issues, forcing IT teams to react rather than plan strategically.
It is therefore crucial to visually map out application integrations and dependencies. This helps IT teams gain a better understanding of the interconnections within their IT landscape and makes it easier to perform impact analyses and carefully plan changes.
5. A Reactive Rather Than Strategic Approach to Application Management
Many organizations treat application management as an operational task: applications are managed in terms of contract renewals and incident resolution, but a broader strategic vision is lacking. This results in IT teams being primarily engaged in ad-hoc decisions and firefighting rather than developing a structured roadmap for the IT landscape.
A mature approach to application management means viewing applications not in isolation but as part of a broader IT strategy. This requires an integrated vision where applications are evaluated based on their contribution to business goals, cost optimization, and technological future-proofing.
From Ad-Hoc Management to a Strategic Application Landscape
Avoiding these pitfalls requires a thoughtful and structured approach to application management. At Content & Coffee, we have developed an Application Landscape Tool designed specifically to help IT teams overcome these challenges. The tool provides a centralized and dynamic overview of all applications, visualizes dependencies, and supports strategic decision-making. This enables organizations to gain control over their IT landscape and effectively avoid the aforementioned pitfalls.
Additionally, we offer supplementary services such as application landscape assessments, training for new application managers, team coaching, and temporary IT team support to ensure that the implementation and optimization of application management seamlessly align with broader business strategies. In this way, we help organizations not only with a technological tool but also with the successful implementation and optimization of their application management within the broader corporate strategy.
Would you like to discover how to professionalize your application management and save costs? Contact us for an introductory meeting.
