Application Decommissioning

A general introduction into a topic with growing importance!

One topic that will become more and more important over the next quarters or years is application decommissioning. With increased use of cloud services, especially PaaS / SaaS and a drive to simplify IT estates, post-productive (meaning non-operational) applications will be a burden for further innovation and growth.

Over the last years and decades companies have been building up large and complex IT estates. Now it is time to clean up to allow a clear focus on the future without being held back by old applications that just consume resources (budget, staff, energy, …) without any value add. Focus your energy on what is relevant to the business and don’t be stuck in the past!

Below are some important points and tasks that should be considered when starting to clean up the IT landscape.

1. Decommissioning Process

A standard process should be defined and put in place with clear steps to follow. Best as a mandatory activity to be considered every time a new application is introduced, or applications are consolidated.

2. Applications Analysis

The basis for any activities is a thorough analysis of the applications. It is important to know what application in what setup (e.g. Application and DB) is used, what data is stored and if there are any satellites (e.g. Archive or Document Management System) in place that contain data from the application as well.

Know what you have, to deal with it correctly!

3. Planning and Communication

Timing is everything. Proper planning and communication have to be in place to make this a success. Considering cut over times, periods the application still needs to be online (e.g. for corrections, year-end closing, …) and getting all stakeholders on board is crucial.

4. Data Archiving

Not relevant for all applications, but if, it is fundamental. Keeping data available for compliance or internal reasons must be ensured. You must be able to facilitate data for e.g. tax audits or in case some maintenance is needed on very old machinery, to mention just a few examples.

The data does not need to be kept in the application it was created in. There are solutions that allow data to be archived and being accessible without the need to keep the old application. Keep the data not the system!

5. Disposal of Hard- and Software

To finalize the decommissioning project the used hardware and software can be disposed. This being the one step that will ensure cost reduction on the infrastructure and license part and should also pay in on any attempt to reduce CO² emissions.

6. Documentation

Maybe not the most favorite task for most, but crucial in this case, documentation. From information on the application, archiving documentation and software disposal, all steps need to be documented to be compliant with external and internal regulations / requirements.