The Gartner® report When Does – and Doesn’t – Application Consolidation Make Sense? discusses the reasons why application consolidation is the right strategy for some organisations, and also why it might not make sense for others.
Key considerations are the drivers of the consolidation. If it is to achieve economies of scale, product or process consistency or manage a large sprawling organisation then often it is the right strategy. However, the report highlights that there still needs to be a high level of commitment and involvement from Senior Management to create the conditions for success.
In other circumstances, such as a highly diverse business or different brand promises across a range of products, consolidation may not be the best approach.
The Gartner® report suggests that another key factor is understanding that application consolidation is not simply an IT project, stating that “standardized business process and application implementation is required.” This will require strong business support, and if that is not available there could be major issues.
Access the full Gartner® Quick Answer: When Does – and Doesn’t – Application Consolidation Make Sense? report here.
Contact us to discuss how the Essential EA Management Tool can support application consolidation, providing an understanding not only of the application landscape but also of the standardisation, or not, of the business process landscape.
Useful Links:
Why Enterprise Architects should guide IT Rationalisation Programmes
The Role of the Enterprise Architect in Application Systems Integration
Applications to Business Capabilities – Why Essential models via Process
Gartner Content
Source: Gartner, Quick Answer: When Does – and Doesn’t – Application Consolidation Make Sense?, By Analyst(s): Stefan Van Der Zijden, Patrick Connaughton, Tad Travis, Aaron Harrison, 17 July 2024
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