Application retirement process
A complete guide to Application Retirement

A complete guide to
Application Retirement

By Avendata

Application retirement process

The ever-increasing changes and growth in the field of Information technology (IT) results in the applications becoming outdated. These applications are to be replaced by the ones with higher efficiency, greater user-friendliness, and cost effectiveness.

Do you also have legacy system(s) that are not used productively anymore? Don’t you have the option to replace these system(s)? May be because you still need to retain the data. For such cases, AvenDATA provides an Application Retirement option.

What is Application retirement ?

Application Retirement is the process of shutting down the redundant or obsolete business applications. It is also known as applications decommissioning. In this case, the application will still have access to the older data, no longer required by the organization. It is important to note that application retirement does not affect a company’s primary systems, applications, and/or data. But it does affect the secondary systems and applications such as No Longer Required (NLR) software. While the business may lose the ability to perform certain tasks during this transition, it allows for the much-needed cost savings and optimized resources.

The Need for Application Retirement

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations accumulate many applications over time. However, as technology advances, some applications become obsolete, unsupported, or redundant, leading to increased maintenance costs and operational inefficiencies. Application retirement helps businesses eliminate unnecessary complexities, reduce licensing and maintenance expenses, and reallocate resources effectively.

The Need for Application Retirement

Several factors contribute to the need for application retirement:

  1. Technological Advancements: As technology evolves, older applications may no longer be compatible with newer systems or fail to meet current security standards.

  2. Changing Business Requirements: Over time, the organization’s business needs change. Some applications may become obsolete or irrelevant as business processes evolve.

  3. High Maintenance Costs: Legacy applications can be expensive to maintain due to outdated technologies and the scarcity of skilled personnel.

  4. Data Silos and Integration Challenges: Legacy applications often lack the ability to integrate with newer systems, leading to data silos and inefficiencies.

  5. Security Risks: Outdated applications may have vulnerabilities that expose the organization to cyber threats.

Benefits of Applications Retirement

There are many benefits of Application Retirement. One of the most beneficial aspects is that it can help reduce the overall cost of a company’s IT budget. Application decommissioning also helps to eliminate the maintenance, infrastructure, and licensing costs associated with the IT applications, not being used anymore.

Application retirement yields significant benefits for organizations seeking to optimize their IT environment and achieve business goals:

  1. Cost Savings: By retiring outdated applications, organizations can reduce maintenance costs, license fees, and support expenses.

  2. Efficiency and Streamlining: Removing obsolete applications reduces complexity, streamlines processes, and enhances overall efficiency.

  3. Security Enhancement: By eliminating vulnerable legacy systems, the organization can improve its overall cybersecurity posture.

  4. Resource Optimization: Retiring legacy applications frees up IT resources and personnel for more strategic initiatives.

  5. Agility and Innovation: Application retirement enables the organization to embrace modern technologies and respond quickly to market changes.

  6. Data Integrity and Compliance: Migrating or archiving data from retired applications ensures data integrity and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Application Retirement Process

The Application Retirement process is an important part of the software life cycle. You can follow these steps to complete a successful software decommissioning process.

1) System Analysis

The initial step is the system analysis. The purpose of the system analysis is to enable an estimated period for archiving the legacy system. It also calculates the cost and facilitates faster decision and plan initiation process. The system analysis result always offers a fixed price for you to reject or accept. Generally, the system analysis takes approximately 2 hours’ time. The system analysis process is divided into two parts, viz. Technical and Business part. Both the parts are for better clarification. 

For more information on System Analysis Process specification, please click the following link

https://avendata.com/application-decommissioning

2) The Archiving Project

After the system analysis, when you decide for the project, there will be a kick off meeting in which your team will get to meet and know our experienced project manager.

3) User Acceptance Test

The last step of the Application Retirement process is an acceptance from your end. As a process, you will test the samples, check the certificate of completeness and verify the documentation. Next, we would be happy to provide you with all the samples.

Now, you have an extensive set of test data. If all the information is correct, you will receive an acceptance report from AvenDATA and you can then shut down your system. All the necessary information can be reviewed within the ViewBox and properly archived. Now, the risks associated with the legacy system are gone and it is time for you to start saving money that was earlier spent on maintenance, electricity, and personnel costs.

After the acceptance phase, AvenDATA commits for full customer support. For example, AvenDATA provides support when an audit is announced, or if any training is required, or may be there is a change of one or more employee.

The expert team at AvenDATA has more than 18 years of experience in Application Archiving and Retirement Services. The immense knowledge includes more than 250 systems (SAP, Oracle, Navision, etc). Since AvenDATA’s foundation, more than 3,100 customers worldwide have been relying on AvenDATA GmbH. You can conveniently lean back and watch AvenDATA, as a strong and trustworthy partner, archiving your legacy systems in accordance with the legal regulations.

Best Practices for Application Retirement

1. Comprehensive Analysis and Planning

Before embarking on an application retirement initiative, thoroughly analyze the existing application portfolio. Identify legacy systems, evaluate their impact on the organization, and prioritize them based on factors such as business criticality, complexity, and potential for modernization.

2. Migration and Data Management

Develop a well-defined migration strategy to ensure a smooth transition from legacy systems to modern alternatives. Carefully plan data migration, ensuring data integrity and compatibility with the new solutions. Additionally, consider archiving any relevant data for compliance or historical purposes.

3. Stakeholder Engagement

Involve key stakeholders from different business units throughout the application retirement process. Engage users, managers, and IT teams to gather insights, address concerns, and ensure a successful transition. Effective communication and collaboration foster buy-in, making the retirement process more seamless and successful.

4. Robust Testing and Training

Prioritize thorough testing of the new applications to ensure functionality, compatibility, and data accuracy. Provide comprehensive training to users and IT personnel to facilitate a smooth transition and maximize the benefits of the modernized systems.

5. Continuous Monitoring and Optimization

After retiring legacy systems:

  1. Monitor the performance of the new applications and collect feedback from users.
  2. Continuously optimize and refine the systems based on user needs and evolving business requirements.
  3. Regularly assess the effectiveness of the retirement strategy and make adjustments as needed.

Integrating Application Retirement and Carve Out

Application retirement and carve-out can be complementary strategies organizations employ to optimize their IT portfolios during business transformations. Organizations can avoid carrying unnecessary legacy systems into the carved-out entity’s IT infrastructure by retiring outdated or redundant applications before or during the carve-out process. This helps create a clean and efficient technology environment that supports the entity’s goals and growth trajectory.

The expert team at AvenDATA has more than 18 years of experience in Application Archiving and Retirement Services. The immense knowledge includes more than 250 systems (SAP, Oracle, Navision, etc). Since AvenDATA’s foundation, more than 3,100 customers worldwide have been relying on AvenDATA GmbH. You can conveniently lean back and watch AvenDATA, as a strong and trustworthy partner, archiving your legacy systems in accordance with the legal regulations.

FAQ About Application Retirement
Application retirement, also known as application decommissioning, is the process of shutting down redundant or obsolete business applications while retaining access to older data that is no longer required by the organization. It allows for cost savings and optimized resources without affecting primary systems and data.

Application retirement offers several benefits, including:

  • Reduction in overall IT budget costs by eliminating maintenance, infrastructure, and licensing expenses of unused applications.
  • Improved business agility by supporting structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data.
  • Secure shutdown of legacy systems in compliance with legal requirements to prevent data leakage or security breaches.

The application retirement process involves the following steps:

  1. System Analysis: Analyzing the legacy system to estimate the archiving period, cost, and initiate the decision-making process.
  2. The Archiving Project: A kick-off meeting with an experienced project manager to discuss the project details.
  3. User Acceptance Test: Testing samples, verifying documentation, and receiving an acceptance report from AvenDATA.
  4. System Shutdown: After acceptance, the legacy system can be shut down, and the necessary information can be properly archived.
  5. Ongoing Support: AvenDATA provides full customer support, including assistance during audits, training, and employee transitions.

Organizations accumulate many applications over time, and some become outdated, leading to increased maintenance costs and inefficiencies. Retirement helps eliminate complexities and reduces expenses.

Best practices include comprehensive analysis, migration planning, stakeholder engagement, robust testing and training, and continuous monitoring and optimization.

Application Retirement and carve-out can be complementary strategies during business transformations, enabling clean and efficient technology environments for carved-out entities.

By retiring outdated applications, organizations can reduce maintenance, licensing, and support costs, contributing to overall IT budget optimization.