It's a messy and complicated job, but if you don't optimize your applications portfolio, your virtualization efforts will hit a wall.
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Virtualization Dirty Jobs: Why You Must Trim Your Application Mix
READER FEEDBACK
Phil Murphy Mon, 2008-07-21 09:43
Although consolidating the application portfolio is infinitely more complex (therefore painful and costly), it is necessary.
Consider an automotive analogy - virtualization (on its own) is the equivalent of replacing the engine in a 1957 Chevy or Gull-Wing Mercedes. Will you see an increase in performance? Yes.
But any automobile is simply a collection of interrelated systems - what about the condition of the brake system? Steering / suspension? Transmission and trans-axle? Is the body rusting off the chassis? Collectively, these components are the automotive equivalent of the applications that serve to leverage the power of the engine to make it useful to the (business) owners.
When we ignore the applications, we've built a car with an engine that will run better, but may be unsafe to operate or impossible to control.
To be fair, IT attends to the technical upgrades that have undeniably brought some benefit via "legacy modernization" - we've been putting new wheels, tires, and cheap, flashy paint-jobs on our applications for years. But we improve the Yugos and Pintos at the same time we improve the classic Porsches, Corvettes, Mercedes, and BMWs. We don't distinguish the gold from the junk. Further, tactical improvements made things look and operate better in the short-term, but real improvement requires an overall plan for the vehicle(s) we manage on behalf of our customers.
It is time to craft a permanent application portfolio management program that has the information, funding and power to discern which applications are worthy of restoration efforts, and which should be consigned to the scrap yard.
The days of simplicity are over - the backyard mechanic has given way to skilled technician just as one-size-fits-all technical improvements have given way to the need for real application management - who is up for the task?
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