As healthcare organizations implement more digital tools to support their operations, the proliferation of applications often creates confusion and inefficiency. Additionally, losing track of where your data is may become a compliance and security nightmare.
Fortunately, application portfolio management (APM) can save the day. APM provides the framework for managing and optimizing your software. It helps you track your application inventory, understand business capabilities, and perform lifecycle management to align your applications with business objectives to maximize value.
The healthcare industry has many unique requirements, and your APM strategy must adapt to the nuances. Let's explore the specifics of APM in healthcare, how to implement a sound plan, what APM technologies you need, and trends to consider.
First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page: Many people confuse application portfolio management with application portfolio rationalization, which is a snapshot of all your applications at a specific time.
APM, on the other hand, isn’t static. The management aspect emphasizes continuous improvement, enabling you to respond to shifting requirements and encouraging forward-thinking in your organization. It informs strategic decisions by offering a holistic view of your applications.
Effective application portfolio management covers four key components:
This discipline helps IT leaders identify technological gaps and invest in tools that are both a business and technical fit for the organization. APM in healthcare helps larger organizations make sound financial decisions during mergers and acquisitions and assists smaller providers with fewer resources (e.g., rural and safety-net hospitals) as they try to do more with less.
Application portfolio management is not a one-and-done project or a once-a-year checkpoint. It’s an ongoing process that requires constant effort. However, healthcare IT teams already have their plates full — is it worth the investment?
In a word: Definitely. Application portfolio management saves costs by eliminating underperforming and duplicative apps. A streamlined portfolio enables you to allocate resources effectively, reduce support requests, and make it easier for clinicians or health information management (HIM) staff to find information.
APM provides insights to help organizations identify gaps and add applications to support their strategic goals. The process also improves data management by helping you understand the costs of maintaining out-of-date legacy systems. You can then make proactive decisions to archive data to ensure compliance and support care delivery while reducing the attack surface and cybersecurity risks.
“As we continue the AI revolution in healthcare, we will generate and need to store more clinical data. There will be a high demand to keep the data to meet compliance requirements and support proper patient evaluations.”
— Madelaine Yue, Vice President, Solutions Delivery, Experis Health Solutions (an Olah partner)
Effective application portfolio management is particularly essential for improving data security in healthcare. It enables you to take inventory of all your penetration points and track which vendors own which applications. For example, you’re more likely to be affected by downtime, threats, and breaches when a single vendor operates several critical applications — and you must plan accordingly to enhance resiliency.
A holistic view of your application landscape also helps you manage contracts proactively to minimize rushed decision-making. For example, starting a contract negotiation process three to six months before the deadline gives you ample time to reach favorable terms, evaluate your options, and switch vendors if necessary.
Although slower to adopt cloud applications than organizations in other industries, many healthcare facilities have migrated their applications to the cloud to alleviate resource constraints prevalent in the industry. However, the shift increases complexity and the risk of sprawl, requiring IT leaders to adapt their APM strategies and implement the appropriate governance and change management protocols.
Traditionally, in-house administrators manage data access, system integrations, server maintenance, and capabilities for on-premises solutions. Today, external cloud vendors are responsible for many of these activities. As such, you must verify their cybersecurity credentials and treat them as an extension of your IT team.
Additionally, cloud applications make it easier for staff to install apps without permission. Instead of waiting months for IT to address their tickets and requests, some employees may act on their own and buy a solution. Organizations must implement monitoring and employee education to reduce the risks of shadow IT.
Lastly, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model changes how you calculate a solution’s total cost of ownership (TCO). Moreover, you must track contract length and evaluate whether to extend a license before the renewal deadline. Application portfolio management helps you gain a holistic view and perform timely actions to maximize return on investment (ROI).
Implementing a seamless process is essential for effective application portfolio management. Here are the six key steps:
Application portfolio management is a complex process that requires collaboration among multiple stakeholders. Break it down into bite-sized tasks and assign owners to ensure accountability. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach: One organization may prioritize preventing downtime by addressing the most critical apps, while another may achieve faster buy-in by tackling specific categories.
“APM isn’t an IT-only endeavor. You must integrate input from stakeholders, business owners, and system users to get the right data points for accurate decision-making.”
— Madelaine Yue
Designing a roadmap is essential but not enough to turn insights into action. The right APM technologies and services help you maximize the impact of application portfolio management.
First, you need a tool to prioritize decisions in alignment with organizational goals. For example, you may weigh and score each recommendation’s impact and use the insights to allocate your resources.
Then, implement an enterprise architecture platform (e.g., Ardoq) to link all the applications and owners. This consolidates information about vendors, facilities, satisfaction scores, business and technical fit, and more, offering a big-picture view and allowing you to drill down to make informed decisions.
A centralized platform also acts as a single source of truth to streamline data collection, support continuous improvement, and provide visibility across departments. It allows employees to submit tickets for new applications and the IT department to implement a governance framework to review requests.
A managed solution provider (e.g., Experis Health Solutions) can offer a toolset to integrate your applications, so you don’t have to create another source of truth or reenter contract information. Additionally, Experis may help train your internal IT team on APM technologies and bring in partners like Olah to streamline data migration and ensure long-term success.
Application portfolio management is an ongoing process, and you need mechanisms to evaluate the effort’s success and gain insights to make targeted improvements.
You can track the savings you’ve achieved through eliminating applications; however, these benefits may not be immediate. For example, archiving costs may offset short-term savings when sunsetting apps. You may also demonstrate how improved APM reduces penalties or legal fees associated with contract management or minimizes downstream issues of pulling data out of old systems.
“Tracking success metrics demonstrates IT is not a cost center but an information broker that helps move an organization’s strategy forward.”
— Ayesaan Jude Rebello, Solutions Director, Process Improvement, Experis Health Solutions
Ongoing M&A in healthcare means organizations will continue to require robust application portfolio management to orchestrate integration points, sunset applications, eliminate duplicative software, inform archiving, and enforce governance. Growing cybersecurity concerns will also drive demand for APM, supported by a robust archiving solution, to ensure data security.
Additionally, application portfolio management will help healthcare organizations navigate an industry facing increased deregulation while continuing to meet compliance requirements. It enables them to achieve application portfolio visibility while ensuring that patients and staff can only see information they’re authorized to access.
Application portfolio management will become increasingly critical for improving IT efficiency, lowering costs, and strengthening security posture as healthcare organizations further their digital transformation journey.
If your APM strategy involves sunsetting applications, Olah can help you archive the stored data to deliver safer care while meeting regulatory requirements. Our solution complements APM strategies to ensure access to critical data as your application landscape evolves. Schedule a demo to see our solution in action.
Experis Health Solutions can support your organization’s application portfolio rationalization and transition to APM. To learn more about our healthcare IT solutions and strategic advisory services, contact us today!