A Detailed Guide On Application Portfolio Management

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Organizations risk wasting resources and incurring higher costs without effective application portfolio management (APM). Poor application management can lead to issues such as insider threats, shadow IT, SaaS sprawl, and reduced operational flexibility.

Recent estimates indicate that more than 70% of the business applications companies use are now delivered via the SaaS model. This figure is expected to rise in the next decade as more organizations adopt SaaS tools.

However, as the SaaS stack grows, the risk of proliferation also increases. To keep it under control, you must enable an effective application portfolio management strategy.

Let's explore how application portfolio management streamlines your tech stack.

1. What Is Application Portfolio Management?

Application portfolio management process is a strategic approach that helps organizations systematically evaluate, manage, and optimize their IT assets and SaaS apps. It also helps them make informed decisions about investments, maintenance, and retirement of SaaS apps.

APM maximizes ROI by prioritizing investments, improving operations, and enhancing cybersecurity. It includes proactive SaaS management to minimize potential risks, reduce redundancy, and achieve business goals.

A. ‍Why Is Managing Your Saas Portfolio Necessary?

With the ongoing adoption of SaaS across every industry, managing your application portfolio is crucial. Without proper application management, your company’s cloud infrastructure, finances, operations, and overall success can suffer.

Through effective APM:

• You can identify SaaS cost optimization opportunities. It involves eliminating underutilized or redundant applications and optimizing pricing plans.
• You can identify performance bottlenecks, address issues promptly, and optimize resource allocation to enhance productivity.

• Regular audits will reveal areas of vulnerability. They will help you rectify them effectively and keep your data secure and applications compliant.
• It also helps with application rationalization, which streamlines your portfolio by removing unused features and combining similar apps.
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2. ‍‍Benefits of Application Portfolio Management

APM helps organizations manage software applications more efficiently, align IT with business goals, improve efficiency, and save costs.

a. Cost Optimization: APM helps reduce costs by identifying duplicate, unused, or overlapping apps. It allows for better license management, vendor consolidation, and reduced SaaS spending.

b. Application Rationalization: This process removes unnecessary or outdated apps, simplifying maintenance and improving portfolio efficiency.

c. Eliminating Security and Compliance Vulnerabilities: APM helps identify security gaps, reduce data breach risks, and ensure compliance with centralized controls and transparent reporting.

d. Strategic Alignment: APM ensures IT investments align with business priorities, enhancing operational efficiency and supporting growth.

e. Resource Optimization: APM helps improve resource allocation by consolidating apps, standardizing platforms, and leveraging SaaS solutions, reducing complexity and increasing scalability.

3. Getting Started With Application Portfolio Management

Mastering application portfolio management streamlines your SaaS resources, boosting efficiency and growth. Here’s a quick, easy-to-follow guide:

A. Surface Your Applications

Start by identifying and cataloging all the applications your organization uses, both authorized and unauthorized. Use application discovery tools to gain full visibility into your SaaS stack. These tools help you track licenses, usage, and ROI, making it easier to manage your SaaS resources effectively.

B. Analyze Application Usage

Next, analyze how each application is being used across your organization. Look at usage patterns like frequency, active users, and peak periods. This helps you identify critical applications and those that may be underutilized, allowing you to optimize resources and improve efficiency.‍

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C. Identify the Spending on Each Application

Analyze the costs associated with each application, including licensing fees, maintenance, and infrastructure costs. This helps you assess ROI, identify cost drivers, and make informed decisions on budget allocation.

You can use SaaS spend management software to identify your software spending. It’ll reveal how much each department spends on each application and help you identify shadow purchases.

D. Determine Cost Optimization Opportunities

Once you have insights on usage and spending, look for opportunities to optimize costs. Evaluate applications for performance, alignment with business goals, and licensing efficiency. If you have underutilized SaaS licenses, right-size them based on usage.

E. Implement Changes and Track Progress

Finally, create a clear plan for optimizing your SaaS portfolio and track progress regularly. Establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure changes are implemented successfully and stakeholders can take action if needed to achieve desired outcomes.

4. The Role of An Application Portfolio Manager

An application portfolio manager ensures the organization's resources are used efficiently, helping align SaaS tools with business needs and maximizing their value.

They do this by:

a. Driving Collaboration Across Departments: They work closely with IT, finance, procurement, and other teams to ensure clear visibility into SaaS usage, improving performance.

b. Continuous Management of SaaS Operations: They regularly evaluate and monitor SaaS tools, adjusting the portfolio to meet changing needs and preparing for future renewals.

c. Executing Strategic Optimization Initiatives: They improve efficiency by reclaiming underused licenses, eliminating duplicate software, and negotiating better license agreements, boosting ROI.

d. Strategic Thinking: They align the app portfolio with the business strategy, ensuring each app supports business goals, improving results, and delivering value faster.

e. Additional Key Responsibilities: An application portfolio manager manages the following aspects besides the mentioned key responsibilities.

• Analytical Skills: They analyze data to make decisions on app management and optimization.
• Financial Management: They handle budgets for maintenance, upgrades, and licenses to control spending.
• Project Management: They coordinate app-related projects, ensuring they meet deadlines and stay within budget.
• Vendor and Relationship Management: They manage vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and ensure SLAs are met.‍

5. The challenges of application portfolio management

Managing an application portfolio presents challenges. However, strategic planning and clear communication across departments can effectively address these challenges.

Such challenges are:

1. App Complexity: Organizations use many different apps, each with its own functions and requirements. Keeping track of them as the portfolio grows can be difficult.

2. Complete Visibility: Understanding where and how apps are used across the organization is crucial but challenging. This includes knowing which departments use which apps and how often they're updated.

3. Cost Management: It's crucial to optimize spending on software licenses, maintenance, and support. This involves identifying unused or underutilized apps to cut costs without losing functionality.

4. Integration Issues: Ensuring apps seamlessly work with existing IT systems is critical. Integration problems can lead to data inconsistencies, inefficiencies, and increased maintenance efforts.

5. Legacy Systems: Older applications (legacy systems) may be outdated or unsupported, making them difficult to maintain and integrate with newer technologies.

6. Alignment with Strategy: Apps should support the organization's goals and evolve as those goals change. Continuous evaluation and adjustment are necessary.

7. Security Risks: Apps can pose security risks if they are not properly maintained or have vulnerabilities. Regular updates, patches, and adherence to industry standards are essential for managing these risks.

8. Resource Allocation: Efficiently managing IT resources like staff time, budget, and infrastructure is essential for effective application portfolio management.

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6. ‍Application Portfolio Management Best Practices

We’ve listed application portfolio management best practices to help organizations quickly implement them and achieve rapid success.

A. Inventory and Categorization

Start by listing all the applications in your portfolio, including those used in different departments. Then, sort them by how important they are (e.g., essential or supportive), how often they are used (e.g., daily or occasionally), and how well they fit with business goals. This helps you identify key apps and decide which ones need improvement or should be retired.

B. Assessment and Prioritization

Evaluate each app to understand its value to the organization. Consider factors like ROI, cost of ownership, maintenance, scalability, and user satisfaction. This helps prioritize apps that align with business goals, focusing investment on high-return apps while considering the optimization or retirement of less valuable ones.

C. Conduct Regular Portfolio Audits

Regular audits help identify outdated technologies or vulnerabilities. They allow you to prioritize upgrades, ensure security, and maintain a strong IT infrastructure.

D. Rationalization and Simplification

Identify redundant apps or outdated features. Rationalization involves removing or combining apps that serve similar functions, reducing maintenance costs and improving efficiency. This also frees up resources for more strategic projects.

E. Use an Application Portfolio Management Software

APM is complex and requires software to manage your growing application stack. It offers visibility, helps with rationalization, and enforces security and compliance. This ensures better governance and decision-making.

F. Improve Cross-Team Communication and Collaboration

Effective APM requires communication across departments. Keeping key stakeholders informed helps align solutions with organizational goals and leads to better decision-making. Engineers must have both technical and communication skills, working together with other teams for success.

G. Streamline Your Procurement Process

A strong APM strategy starts with a well-managed procurement process. Ensuring that all applications are compatible and properly vetted before purchase helps avoid integration issues. Centralizing the purchasing process prevents shadow IT and ensures all apps are sanctioned.

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For a smoother experience, use integrated software like CloudEagle.ai to manage SaaS apps, enhance collaboration, and streamline procurement. This way, you won’t need separate tools for each task, making your APM more efficient. Keep reading to learn more about how CloudEagle.ai can boost your results.

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7. CloudEagle.ai: The Go-to Application Portfolio Management Software

CloudEagle.ai is a SaaS spend management and procurement platform. The tool helps SMBs and enterprises manage and rationalize their SaaS portfolios.

CloudEagle.ai offers application discovery and cost optimization features for full SaaS and spending visibility. You can track departmental spending on applications and reduce SaaS costs.

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With CloudEagle.ai, you can identify duplicate, unused, and redundant applications and eliminate them to minimize SaaS spend. The tool provides accurate usage insights on licenses to help you determine the ROI of those licenses and eliminate them if they’re unused.

An ideal application portfolio management solution should handle the entire SaaS lifecycle, from procurement to risk mitigation and negotiations. CloudEagle.ai excels in managing SaaS applications, mitigating risks, and optimizing procurement processes for organizations.

With CloudEagle.ai, you get the following:

A. Complete App Discovery 

Complete App Discovery: CloudEagle.ai helps you discover all apps used within your organization. This includes identifying IT-authorized and unauthorized applications (often called shadow IT). Having complete visibility helps you manage your application landscape more effectively.

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CloudEagle.ai automatically scans your network to identify both officially sanctioned applications and those operating in the shadows. By gaining a full inventory of all applications, you can ensure nothing is overlooked, giving you a clear picture of your application landscape.

B. Shadow IT Elimination

The tool helps identify and manage shadow IT applications that have not been officially approved. By bringing these applications into the official management fold, you can improve security, compliance, and overall IT governance.

By bringing these hidden apps to light, organizations can assess their security, compliance, and cost implications, ensuring that only authorized, secure, and necessary tools are in use.

C. Real-Time Application Usage and Spend Insights 

CloudEagle.ai provides real-time application usage and spend insights to track how applications are being utilized and how much they are costing the organization. By monitoring app usage, you can identify which applications are being underused or overused.

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This visibility allows you to optimize software investments, cut down on unnecessary licenses, and ensure that money isn’t being wasted on apps that no longer add value to the business. It also helps you understand the ROI on your software spend and make more informed decisions about future investments.

D. Application Rationalization

CloudEagle.ai helps you rationalize your application portfolio by assessing how each application is being used, its performance, and its business value. It identifies applications that are outdated, redundant, or inefficient, which can then be eliminated or consolidated.

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This process ensures that your software aligns with your business goals, making your technology environment simpler and more effective. By removing apps that don’t add value, you can improve performance and reduce unnecessary costs, streamlining your operations.

E. Streamlined License Management

With CloudEagle.ai, you can efficiently manage your SaaS licenses. This includes tracking license usage, ensuring compliance with license agreements, and optimizing license utilization to avoid unnecessary costs.

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You can reclaim unused licenses using workflows and harvest them for the next user, ensuring your investment is accounted for and that they significantly contribute to your bottom line.

Check out Remediant's detailed success story to learn how they used CloudEagle.ai to streamline their SaaS license management process.

F. AI-Powered Contract Management

CloudEagle.ai’s AI-powered contract management changes the way you handle vendor contracts. Its AI metadata extraction feature pulls out key information like start date, end date, and renewal terms, making contract management easier.

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It also helps identify areas for renegotiation, cost savings, or better terms. By automating the contract review process, CloudEagle.ai saves time, reduces errors, and ensures you always have the best contract terms in place.

G. Automated Alerts for Expiring Contracts

CloudEagle.ai’s Automated Alerts for Expiring Contracts feature ensures that you never miss an important contract renewal or expiration date. The platform sends timely notifications to your team when a contract is nearing its end so you can take action well before it expires.

These alerts can help you avoid service interruptions, negotiate better contract terms, and ensure that critical services are renewed on time. This feature also helps you track and manage renewal deadlines efficiently, reducing the chances of unexpected costs or missed opportunities.

H. Automated Renewal Management

CloudEagle.ai’s renewal management feature simplifies the renewal process for all your contracts and subscriptions. The platform keeps track of upcoming renewals and sends your notifications 90 days before and helps you evaluate whether to renew, renegotiate, or discontinue certain services.

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Know how Falkonry leveraged CloudEagle.ai to automate SaaS contract renewals, improving financial management and operational flexibility.

I. Procurement Workflows

The tool offers automated procurement workflows for acquiring new software and SaaS subscriptions. These workflows streamline procurement, reduce manual effort, and ensure purchases align with organizational needs and budget constraints.

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CloudEagle.ai integrates seamlessly with Slack. You can use a Slackbot to streamline intake requests from Slack channels. It automatically creates dedicated channels and notifies stakeholders and IT managers about the details.

Moreover, CloudEagle.ai offers assisted business services to handle vendor negotiations efficiently, especially when you have limited time and bandwidth to engage directly.

J. Integration with Existing Enterprise Systems

CloudEagle.ai seamlessly integrates with over 500 apps, including your existing Enterprise Systems, such as ERP, CRM, and ITSM tools. This integration allows CloudEagle.ai to work harmoniously within your current tech ecosystem, enabling smooth data exchange between different systems.

Whether you’re using software like Salesforce, ServiceNow, or SAP, CloudEagle.ai ensures that you can easily incorporate application portfolio management into your existing processes, making it simpler to track and manage applications across the entire organization without disruption.

K. Cross-Department Collaboration via Slack

CloudEagle.ai enhances cross-department collaboration via Slack, making it easy for teams to stay in sync. By integrating with Slack, CloudEagle.ai sends real-time updates, notifications, and insights directly to the relevant channels.

Whether it’s an alert about an expiring contract, an update on app usage, or a notification about an application audit, teams can collaborate instantly. This integration helps break down silos and ensures that key stakeholders—whether from IT, procurement, finance, or legal—stay informed and can take action quickly to address any issues or opportunities.

Check out this testimonial from Iffi Wallah, Co-founder and CEO of Edge, as he explains how CloudEagle.ai helped Edge gain visibility into their software spend, identify apps employees were exploring, and optimize their software management.

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8. Final Thoughts

Application portfolio management (APM) shouldn't be seen as a drain on your budget or resources. Instead, it should be the foundation of your cloud management strategy.

APM helps align IT with business goals, maintain standards, and meet stakeholder needs. Ignoring APM can lead to issues like data theft, license waste, and resource shortages, which can hurt business outcomes.

It's important to remember that APM is an ongoing process. Regular analysis, monitoring, and adjustments are key to getting the most out of it.

Schedule a demo with CloudEagle.ai to learn how to optimize your application management process and reduce costs efficiently.

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Frequently asked questions

1. What does application portfolio management provide?

Application Portfolio Management provides a wide range of benefits to SaaS-dependent organizations. In addition to maintaining control over their software stack, APM enables businesses to gain greater visibility into their IT assets, optimize resource allocation, minimize compliance risks, and maximize the value of their software investments.

2. Why does your business need application management tools?

To successfully transition from an on-premises environment to a cloud-friendly ecosystem, businesses must prioritize mastering their software management standards. By implementing APM practices, businesses can adopt a robust approach to optimizing their application landscape, improving operational efficiency, and staying ahead in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.

3. What are the three phases of application portfolio management?

A comprehensive APM strategy consists of three crucial phases: assessment, decision-making, and implementation.

The existing application portfolio is evaluated during the assessment phase to understand its functionalities, costs, and risks.

In the decision-making phase, applications are prioritized based on business value and technical feasibility, resulting in a roadmap for retiring, enhancing, or maintaining them.

Implementation involves executing pre-established decisions, including application consolidation, modernization, or integration. Each APM phase involves regular application monitoring, often aided by automated platforms.