How Application Portfolio Management Serves Enterprise Architecture

The 'dot com boom' and the technological developments that followed changed how businesses work, how they compete, and what customers expect of them. Organizations are becoming more complex: technology is advancing, IT landscapes are getting bigger, and regulations are changing by the year.

There are a lot of interconnected factors that must work in harmony for an organization to succeed. That is why we have Enterprise Architecture. Enterprise Architecture is the process through which organizations navigate this complex environment. Simply put, there are three goals:

• Simplifying complexity.
• Make sure that IT supports business. (And for that, we must first understand how IT and business work together.)
• Ensuring room for change.

Though we refer to businesses in this post, it's important to note that Enterprise Architecture applies to all kinds of organizations: businesses, government entities, associations, non-profit organizations… Enterprise encompasses everything.

What is Enterprise Architecture?

Enterprise Architecture is a means of designing an organization's functions, elements, and processes in a way that ensures success in a changing environment.

There's a reason for the placement of 'architecture' in the term. Enterprise architects must have an excellent sense of how everything fits together. How is the business constructed? What are the components of the business? How do these components relate to each other for delivering the product?

Everyone uses IT these days. Even your local dry-cleaner. What matters is designing and using the right software and making sure to make the most of your IT budget. (Admittedly, corporations have it a little harder than your dry-cleaner.)

Imagine this: your business uses software for some business domain. Over time, your requirements evolve but the software doesn't. Your IT department keeps adding new features to the software, but it becomes a patchwork. It doesn't work quite right, and you keep spending IT resources just to maintain it. But it's like adding more floors to a building when the foundation is weak.

This is where application architects come in. Application architects define the requirements of the applications that address the organization's needs. The applications must fit with the overall IT system and adapt when needed. Adapt is an important word because business, markets, customers, and most certainly technology always keep changing.

Enterprise architects have a similar role, but they're in charge of the bigger picture. They:

• evaluate the technical architecture of their organization,
• determine any gaps,
• eliminate overlaps,
• establish an IT system that addresses the needs of the organization,
• allocate budget and resources,
• ensure that the IT environment helps achieve business goals.

For IT to serve business, you need a comprehensive view of all domains. And you need to ensure that technology operations support business objectives.

Application Portfolio Management in Relation to Enterprise Architecture

We covered many aspects of Application Portfolio Management in our previous blog posts. Now let's talk about what APM does for organizations' Enterprise Architecture.

• APM simplifies enterprise architects' jobs.
• It provides a clear path for mapping applications and linking business domains. It provides a detailed overview of the software used in an organization. Gaps and overlaps become easily identifiable. Redundant applications and duplicate technology start to stick out.
• Application architects also benefit from APM. A good APM tool provides a platform where users can log incidents and input comments about applications' ease of use. Architects can oversee these inputs to form accurate performance quality reports. This practice helps maintain a standard for software and minimizes IT risk.
• Outdated or technically unreliable software poses a threat to the enterprise architecture. Risk factors include disruption of work, loss or compromising of data, and security breaches. Eliminating obsolete or unreliable software ensures safety for the IT environment.
• APM is a strategy that helps build strong, effective Enterprise Architecture.

The building blocks of your organization are stacked on top of one another. Just one piece can affect the entire structure. When replacing an application or introducing a new one, ask yourself:

• What is the impact of change?
• What risks and stakeholders are involved with this change?
• What business domains does this affect?

These will add up and affect your business as a whole - not just your IT system. APM practice involves mapping out applications and their relevant business capabilities. This allows a clear view of the relationship between different software and domains. It's important to be mindful of the fact that every change is significant.

Application Portfolio Management Software

As the technology structure of businesses grows day by day, the functions they need to implement APM have also changed. Application Portfolio Management software is a functional digital solution that enables today's businesses to effectively manage their complex application inventories. With Loggle's Application Portfolio Management software, businesses can create application inventory, evaluate application efficiencies and easily track application costs.

Wrapping Up

Application Portfolio Management and Enterprise Architecture go hand in hand. Sure, you can implement APM strategies without EA and vice-versa. But you wouldn't be getting the most out of either.

While Enterprise Architecture is about designing the IT landscape in a way that is open to change, APM helps determine what needs changing. Both practices ensure that you have the right applications for your enterprise. And when this stops being true, the transition to better alternatives becomes clear, safe, and simple.

There's no way to know what the regulations will be in five years or how technology will advance in a decade. Practices for ensuring that your organization's IT landscape is free to improve and innovate are not an option - they are necessities.