Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Situation: You want to learn more about Application Portfolio Management.
Recently we spoke with Lori Ellsworth, Vice President, Compuware IT Portfolio Management Solutions. Compuware (recently called a leader in the PPM market by Forrester Research) has found that APM is growing as an approach to right-sizing IT investments. We try to drill down into that a bit in the following interview, showing how APM is connected to other efforts we might be more familiar with. The goal is to give you a sense of whether it may be right for your company..Q. You describe Application Portfolio Management (APM) as a discipline for assessing applications in your existing portfolio. Is it really about tracking, prioritizing, and managing applications – or is it more about optimizing with the business functions they serve?
A. Tracking, prioritizing and managing applications are the means to the end. At the end of day, IT organizations must deliver applications that perform and meet the needs of the business. But IT lives in a very disruptive environment. They are continually interrupted by merger and acquisition activity, changing production environments, new technologies, and of course, new demand for both strategic and operational investments. To keep up with these changes and demands, APM enables IT to conduct ongoing assessments of the application portfolio to measure their strategic importance and ensure they are delivering the expected value to the business. Getting a handle on the applications that exist and their current state is what allows IT to build a roadmap for optimization.
Q. Enterprise Portfolio Management ties project and program efforts to the overall strategy. What are the ties between APM and EPM?
A. I think the connections go “both ways”. Within the APM discipline, applications should at least be classified according to strategic value, and this presumably is guided by overall strategic initiatives. From an EPM perspective, delivering on programs and/or projects may have implications for the applications that serve the business, so these should be connected. It would be ideal to look at the enterprise program level and see the applications that will be impacted, and look at the application level and see what enterprise programs it participates in.
Q. On the face of it, APM looks like a way to root out unnecessary costs and poor resource allocation. Is that its primary function?
A. In the short term, APM can help IT reduce costs by reducing the number of applications, and reducing maintenance, integration and development costs on those applications that are not strategic. But, the ultimate objective is to sustain the APM initiative so that long term benefits can be realized. As you continually manage your application portfolio, IT becomes better aligned with the needs of the business and more effective at allocating both resources and budgets.
Q. What leads an organization to implement APM? Are there certain events or triggers that are universal among adopters? Does an organization need to be of a certain size to benefit?
A. Interest in APM has been increasing over the last several months. Certainly, today’s focus on cutting costs and running a more lean IT organization are drivers. As leaders look for opportunities to do this, they recognize that the application portfolio has grown “unchecked” over the last several years. Regardless of your size, assessing your application portfolio and eliminating redundant or low-value applications can immediately reduce costs. Other drivers are M&A activity, IT modernization initiatives and changes in management.
Q. What’s the difference between APM and ALM? (both terms of the discipline itself and the results)
A. Application Lifecycle Management supports new application development throughout the development process: planning, architecture, requirements gathering, development, change management, testing and release management. ALM aims to reduce time to market, improve application quality and ensure that applications meet business requirements at delivery.
Application Portfolio Management analyzes production applications in the context of the entire application portfolio. It assesses each application’s current value, the costs of running them and the associated risks. With this information IT can make the right funding decisions such as when to invest in or retire an application. APM aims to reduce the size and maintenance costs of the application portfolio so funds can be put towards new strategic development.
Both disciplines leverage best practices to improve IT productivity. You can think of it as ALM focusing on building and delivering the asset or application, and APM focusing on the end result – its health and how it continues to serve the business. The reality is the two are connected, since evaluation of the application can lead to investment decisions.
Posted on: March 17, 2009 12:52 PM |
Permalink