Case Study

Ad hoc management of the application lifecycle leads to inefficient management of the application, reducing its overall value.

Solution Set

Applications pass through four lifecycle stages: Birth, Growth, Maturity, and Death. To effectively manage each application, the IT leader and Applications Manager (AM) must know to which state it belongs.

Tool

Determining if or when to retire an application is a difficult proposition. Retirement decisions have a reactionary effect on an enterprise's corporate and technology infrastructure. Using the wrong criteria to determine whether or not to retire...

Note

This storyboard will help you create meaningful procedures to promote improvements in your overall application maintenance approach. If you fail to provide appropriate resources and processes for maintenance tasks, the applications that drive...

Solution Set

Too often maintenance tasks take a backseat and don't get the attention they require. Good process and control is critical to ensure that systems remain functional, no matter from where the changes came.

Video

Seventy-six percent of survey respondents indicated that application maintenance is one of the most critical areas of the business, and yet many organizations deal with maintenance in a reactive mode, with very little process.

Tool

When evaluating whether to replace a legacy system, focus on business risks and benefits, since in the end, it will be a business decision. Examine risks to productivity, expected costs, and the benefits that the new system will bring to the...

Template/Policy

Use this template to define normal application maintenance business hours, after-hours support, priority guidelines, and response times based on priority.

Template/Policy

This app maintenance workflow template provides flowcharts for managing defects, upgrades, and patches. Use this document to establish maintenance processes specific to your environment. Having processes is key to stepping out of reactive mode...

Note

Info-Tech recently conducted several surveys for our research projects. This document is a high level summary of those results and an introduction to the resulting research.

Use these notes to apply cost-savings across your department. Discover cost savings in every aspect of your cost-to-serve expenses, and use the guidance and tools below to start reducing costs today.

Template/Policy

Over the course of an application's lifecycle, maintenance costs will comprise the majority of total cost of ownership. An Application Maintenance Policy should be in place for all COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) applications to maximize...

Clear and unambiguous service level agreements (SLAs) help to set expectations in application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) initiatives, however many IT professionals are unclear about how to best structure their AMO SLAs. Achieve the right...

Template/Policy

Small enterprises that engage in application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) need solid service level agreements (SLAs) to start the relationship off on the right foot. Use this customizable AMO SLA template to ensure that the organization...

Clear and concise service level agreements (SLAs) help to ensure that all of the parties involved in an application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) initiative are on the same page. Learn the ins and outs of AMO SLAs and save time by using the ITA...

Tool

Tracking an application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) provider's performance using a performance scorecard (PSC) can go a long way towards keeping the AMO initiative on the right track. Use the ITA Premium SE customizable AMO PSC template to...

Case Study

The inclusion of clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) contracts is an important component of outsourcing success. Follow the successful strategies of two IT professionals who structured their AMO...

Tool

Keeping track of an application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) provider's performance with a performance scorecard (PSC) helps to ensure that the initial goals of the AMO initiative are being met. Use Info-Tech's AMO PSC template to make sure the...

Using a performance scorecard to track provider performance in application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) can help to ensure that the initial goals of the AMO initiative are being met. Manage AMO relationships effectively by learning the ins and...

Template/Policy

Application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) initiatives require clear and unambiguous service level agreements (SLAs) to set expectations and start the relationship off on the right foot. Don't waste time trying to create your own SLAs ? establish...

Well-structured service level agreements (SLAs) help to ensure that application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) relationships run smoothly, efficiently, and deliver maximum value. Start the organization's AMO initiative off on the right foot by...

It is quite common for resourcing requirements to increase or decrease over time in application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) initiatives. Move seamlessly through changes in AMO staffing requirements and maximize resource efficiency by applying...

Organizations of any size can succeed at application maintenance outsourcing (AMO) by instituting strong governance. Follow the strategies of a CIO, in a small organization in the insurance industry, who used AMO to offload non-core tasks and...

Many enterprises perceive their IT departments as cost-centers, whereas some see IT as a strategic enabler. Some characteristics of a strategic enabler are going beyond low-hanging fruit when managing costs, using mid and long-term tactics to...

Close to three-quarters of manufacturing firms are rearranging cost management priorities to meet cost reduction targets mandated by senior management. The day-to-day cost management strategies at manufacturing firms are not yet off the table....

About half of wholesale/retail firms are rearranging cost management priorities to meet cost reduction targets mandated by senior management. The day-to-day cost management strategies at wholesale/retail firms are not yet off the table. However,...

The most popular areas to reduce IT costs are pretty predictable. However, many IT leaders are missing or avoiding major cost saving opportunities altogether. Move beyond low-hanging fruit and tackle more creative ways to cut the IT budget.

Many enterprises are tackling the usual and predictable when it comes to cutting IT costs. However, many significant cost-reduction opportunities are being missed or ignored outright. Move beyond the low-hanging fruit and scrutinize in-house...

Premium Resource

Whether it's planned, routine, or emergency-related, the constant change involved in application maintenance must be managed in order to minimize possible downtime and maximize maintenance efforts without overrunning the maintenance budget.

Cutting back on service levels, negotiating with vendors, and implementing good application maintenance processes can yield short and long-term cost reduction results with minimal consequences on day-to-day business activities. Assess the area...