App Rationalization: An Important Step Before Moving to the Cloud

Configuration Management Databases and Reference Architecture

As newer technologies and processes emerge, it’s important to have a strong foundation in place. Organizations can’t rationalize what they don’t know they have, so configuration management is a crucial prerequisite to making sound decisions about end-state placement and provisioning.

Most organizations have some sort of configuration management database, but it’s often incomplete, partially implemented, inaccurate or lacks insight into dependencies. Assess the CMBD first, and once the gaps are identified, automated tools will help close those gaps to prepare for your app rationalization process.

Establishing a reference architecture outlining the high-level business functions across the enterprise is also useful as a translation tool. Healthcare organizations that have the best partnerships between IT and their lines of business can drive maturity and agility much better. IT exists to support the business; IT teams need to have a good understanding of an organization’s mission at a high level so they can align their focus and resources appropriately. Not everyone in IT needs to be a healthcare expert or hospital administrator, and vice versa. But they all need to understand each other better. With a reference architecture in place, the organization can better align apps to departments and functions and see where there’s redundancy.

READ MORE: Home healthcare providers find success with app modernization.

Let Automation Fill In The Gaps

It’s common for healthcare organizations to have CMDBs that may need a lot of work, but automation can help fill in gaps and increase transparency. Some applications are ready for the cloud, others may require an OS upgrade or other hygiene. But healthcare organizations don’t have to do such assessments on their own. Their focus should be on delivering high-quality patient care, not on becoming an IT company.

A full analysis of an organization’s application portfolio can typically take months or even more than a year, but automated tools can speed up that process. CDW, for instance, uses tools such as SAMA (Strategic Application Modernization Assessment), which is a software tool that can find potential modernization and cloud migration issues in the early stages of the process, and SkyMap, another software tool that relies on artificial intelligence and machine learning to discover the best paths to the cloud.

An expert partner can help healthcare organizations plan their cloud migration in waves and support them in their app modernization journeys. A partner can also help with the aftermath and management going forward.