Your Overcrowded Application Toolbox Needs a Serious Refresh

You don’t have to tell an IT administrator that the global application software market is a juggernaut with no signs of stopping. One report estimates the market will more than double from $385.62 billion in 2023 to a projected $862.83 billion in 2030. Every week IT staff is managing new SaaS applications, AI applications in testing mode, customer experience software, and the growing category of no code/low-code developed applications. Add to this the proliferation of tools IT is expected to administer and it’s evident IT needs a way to streamline this environment for easier manageability.

Besides the long list of applications and tools, IT must provide a satisfying experience to employees who have high performance expectations when it comes to working at their digital workspaces.

To get ahead of this overload and support the employee at the same time, businesses are turning to digital employee experience (DEX) solutions. DEX offers a way to gain deeper insights into employee experience, application use and overall digital workplace performance, also providing a data-enriched lens into which applications and devices are worthy of retaining and which no longer provide value. From a security aspect, DEX tools can also help IT teams with data that helps them better understand and improve their security posture and reduce risks caused by weak security configurations, boosting overall endpoint security. Finally, DEX solutions are also able to consolidate and reduce the number of IT tools in use, as DEX platforms offer key capabilities such as remote management, remote control, patching and vulnerability assessment which helps remove other niche solutions – resulting in less cost of IT tool software, fewer agents on the employee endpoint and less for IT to manage.

DEX analysis and management includes these aspects:

It’s about the data. Real-time telemetry, continual capturing of thousands of data points across the digital workplace, provides valuable application experience metrics. When it comes to applications, the data gives IT insight into whether an application is performing differently due to a typical user behavior like loading a group of high-density graphics, or if the application requires immediate remediation via automation. To satisfy an employee’s desire for a frictionless workspace experience, DEX performance data catches issues and fixes them before they hit the desktop.

DEX data can also enable IT to move out of a standard device refresh cycle, and spot performance issues that need to be addressed more immediately. Long logon times or slow application launches are examples that impact the digital experience. More current device data can also help IT determine which devices can support Windows 11 migration, as the October deadline nears.

Reducing application and VDI waste. A major culprit in application overload is the volume of unused and underused applications. It’s commonly reported that 30% of business applications fall into this category. We know that the growing number of SaaS applications, VDI and DaaS solutions are key offenders. By using data collected via DEX tools IT can gain deeper visibility into resource allocation, device experience metrics, and information about redundant tools and unused licenses. If the data indicates an application was last used 22 months ago, and the license is still a cost item, IT can flag that one for cancellation.

The metrics can also help a business adjust its VDI infrastructure to better align with actual resource use. The end result is shelving applications that do not show value, shaving unnecessary license costs, and fine tuning as-a-service solutions to align performance and use with costs.

Consolidating tools and data. You can’t talk about cost control and wasted resources without talking about the need for consolidation. At present, IT is contending with two forces slowing down productivity and adding costs: what is commonly called ‘tool sprawl’ and siloed data, in part the result of tool-collected data that is not shared on a unified platform. When it comes to application performance and weeding out under-performers, IT may be using tools for observability, monitoring, and application performance management. Consolidation here is an IT objective. A solution is DEX technology that combines system performance, user experience, and operational intelligence into one cohesive workflow. By achieving this end-to-end visibility across applications, devices and virtual workspaces DEX eliminates data silos and reduces the management burden on IT. Then it conducts predictive analysis, using real time data collected and via automation, proactively fixes any identified performance issues.

Streamlining Your Application Future

Modern technology like DEX solutions is a powerful asset in controlling application overload and tool sprawl. To prevent future operational congestion and better control costs DEX can help enterprises to develop a clear vision of what their application future should look like. Gartner refers to the TIME practice: whether to tolerate, invest, migrate, or eliminate an application. The assessment, which ideally is conducted on an agreed upon schedule, will help weed out costly waste. DEX’s ability to offer deeper insights into underperforming or underused applications can help IT see patterns in investments that haven’t realized enough value and use this data to help make informed decisions for the future.

With the swirl of SaaS and AI applications continuing at a speedy pace, DEX data analytics can help in vetting these technology investments against longer term business strategies and cost/benefit principles.