Application Portfolio Management (APM)
A defensible inventory of every business application — what it does, what it costs, who depends on it, and whether it earns its keep. APM is where rationalization stops being aspirational.
Why it matters
Most organizations cannot answer three basic questions about their application landscape with confidence: how many do we have, what do they cost end-to-end, and which ones are candidates for retirement, replacement, or investment. The data exists; it just lives in a dozen spreadsheets and a few heads.
APM consolidates that picture. Done properly, it links applications to business capabilities, technical fitness, and TIME (Tolerate, Invest, Migrate, Eliminate) recommendations grounded in real signals — not opinion.
The ongoing value is bigger than the one-time rationalization. APM becomes the spine for cloud migration prioritization, M&A integration, license rationalization, and risk reduction. Every major transformation question routes through it.
The trick is keeping APM alive after the initial inventory. We design the operating cadence as carefully as the data model.
How Amazon Consulting helps
A practical APM engagement gives you a defensible portfolio in months, not years — and an operating rhythm that keeps it accurate.
Inventory & taxonomy
Consolidate sources, define the application taxonomy, and align with CSDM Application Services so APM and CMDB stay in sync.
Assessments at scale
Run business fit, technical fit, and risk assessments efficiently — focused surveys, not exhaustive ones — to produce actionable scoring.
TIME recommendations
Generate Tolerate / Invest / Migrate / Eliminate recommendations grounded in cost, fit, and dependency data.
Operate the portfolio
Embed APM in annual planning, M&A integration, and modernization cycles so the inventory stays trustworthy beyond go-live.
Recent engagements
Recent APM work has centered on pre-migration rationalization, M&A integration assessments, and standing up annual portfolio reviews where one had never existed. Specific scope and outcomes available under NDA.
Related services
Ready to know what you actually run?
A focused APM kickoff can give you a defensible application inventory and rationalization plan inside a quarter.