The ability to innovate and carry out day-to-day business activities is properly addressed through modern applications management. Business problems can be solved quickly, faster, efficiently, and at a very lower cost as well. Applications management is reliable, reduces any form of business downtown, and helps to lower the overall operating costs of a business.
According to the CEO of the statistic support Microsoft, Mr Satya Nadella “Every company is a software company”. Thanks to technology, today, Applications management has more and more possibilities and keeps developing in the IT department.
Additionally, application management provides higher productivity, it also enhances end-user experience. Application management is very important because it ensures that the application software’s performance is always at its crescendo. In this article, I will discuss what application management entails so let’s get at it.
What is Applications Management?
Application management is the processes through which software applications are managed, maintained, controlled, and upgraded from the cradle to the grave, and how it operates. Application management helps to keep applications running smoothly.
There are crucial things you need to know about application management—its functions, and key activities.
Functions of Application Management
Applications management has great control over all applications, which provides flexibility in the smooth running of these applications. There are so many functions which must be appropriately carried out and they are:
- Application management is not for everybody. It has a great role to play in every business app when it comes to managing how software applications operate. Anyone who plays this role must be one who has skills in managing, an expert in designing and technically inclined in application management.
- It will help you identify bugs, prevent and manage incidents in your daily activities
- It is always available. It is not like the 9 to 5 job when one works from a particular time and for a period of time. It access business application 24/7 nonstop.
- It doesn’t pay attention to immediate performance but it helps to support long-term success.
- Application management helps to ensure that apps remain relevant and evolve as businesses go through change.
- Enhance continuous maintenance.
- Cloud computing extends into application management. It plays a key role in the cloud operating world.
- Ensure that the components of the application are well-monitored and available at all times.
- Application management is way different and has different meanings, functions, and so many activities from IT support and from other domains which people use in confusing their selves.
What is Application Management in ITIL?
ITIL is an acronym for (information technology infrastructure library). Its main use is for planning, maintaining, and improving the overall lifecycle management in a company. It also aims at standardizing IT service selection for a company by a third party.
The role of application management in ITIL is to manage and support operational applications while contributing to the enhancement of service applications. It is the collection of the best practices for enhancing and improving software applications through their lifespan.
Objectives of Application Management in ITIL
It plays a crucial role in the management of applications and they are:
- Manage and improve applications throughout their lifecycle.
- Provides required skills in the operation of the organization’s software.
- Helps in building, testing, and designing IT services.
What Are the Four Functions of ITIL?
Functions are the medium through which the group of employees and every organization as a whole make up operations efficient.
The four functions of ITIL are also the same in its stages and they are:
- Service Strategy
- Service Design
- Service Transition
- Service Operation
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The Seven Gilding Principles of the ITIL
These principles are designed to give you better guidelines on the actions which will not only help you but also help the organization’s service portfolio benefit from as well and these guidelines are:
- Start from where you are
- Keep it functional and simple
- Optimize and automate
- Promote and improve visibility
- Ensure to work holistically
- Focus on value
- Iteratively progress with feedback and information
What are the 5 Stages of ITIL?
Processes of ITIL are:
- Service Strategy
- Service design
- Service Transition
- Service operation
- Continual service improvement
#1. Service Strategy
This is the first process under the stage of ITIL. It is a market-driven process that helps every organization determine and focus on the kind of service they should be offering and the type of market they should target to meet their desired goals. They are the top building blocks for this process. They call them the four Ps and they are:
- Planning: this entails the action one has to take to meet their desired goals and objectives
- Perspective: helps you define your vision and give guidelines on how your services can improve
- Pattern: this entails the actions every organization must take per time to ensure that the organization runs smoothly.
- Position: helps you understand the best way to position yourself in the market which also helps you to measure your strategy with other competitors.
#2. Service Design
Service design is the second stage in the ITIL process. In this stage services strategy turns into action. Processes are appropriately designed and executed to have the best service management. Attention to detail is the number one factor in the service design stage. It enables services that would best delight customers and give them the desired outcome.
#3. Service Transition
In the service transition stage, processes are transitioned into a live environment. In this stage, services undergo thorough testing to know the areas where it is lagging behind and for further improvement. The service transition stage enables organizations to optimize their services before pushing them to the next stage.
#4. Service Operation
During the service operation stage, organizations implement new services, enabling users to make use of it after it must have been added to the organizations existing coverage. In the service operation stage organizations must be able to fix problems, carry out different routine operational tasks, resolve service issues, and fulfill every user request.
#5. Continuous Service Improvement
This is the last stage of ITIL, this stage ensures that the procedure and the ongoing services are well improved. Also ensures that the services develop over time into one that increases and provide profitability.
The five phases or stages of the ITIL ensure and provide guidance to develop and manage the services for IT functions. It ensures that the service provider and those receiving this service achieve their goals
What is the Difference Between Functional Applications Management and Technical Applications Management?
Functional management which can also be called information services or information management is a process through which IT services are tailored or transferred to the wishes of the users. It provides the specification of IT services, and executes and manages the information of every organization. Functional application management is divided into:
- User management help in managing the company’s information.
- Executing processes helps in implementing changes among others.
- Functionality management focuses on the preparation for the company’s rollout of new releases.
Functions Carried out by Functional Management
- Finding technical issues. This is always that part when one has to update the application so, users can always have access using the application.
- Translate new needs into new functionality and supervise new executions on software applications.
- Have a proper check if everything is running the way it should. To be sure of when to update and upgrade an application.
- Communicate with end users
- Makes the availability of documents or manuals for the operators to use as reference.
Technical application management, on the other hand, is the process through which applications are installed and approved. It is making the technical systems flexible and operational.
Functions of Technical Application Management
- Provides the right type of resources to manage technology and meet the required business goals.
- Ensure a good balance between the utilization and cost of every resource made in a business.
- Provide economy of scale to every company and a better way for how the need to employ contractors can be minimized.
- Provides guidelines to every IT operator about how to carry out the ongoing operational management of technology.
Applications Management Services
Application management services are services a person offers from an organization to a large or small company to help businesses get the service they need. Overall, with the help of application management experts, businesses don’t need to rely so much on internal resources to maintain software systems.
Understanding applications management services is very critical and important to help businesses overcome any form of problem they might be facing in the work and costs required to manage information technology software systems.
Benefits of Applications Management Services
Applications management services are beneficial to both small and large companies. Although a small company might not have the financial capability compared to a big or large organization, this can sometimes affect how much the applications management services solution of a company budgets for, but regardless of this difference they still benefit from the applications management services provider.
What is an Applications Management Specialist?
Application management specialist is responsible for improving and providing unstoppable support on software applications in the portfolio of the PCC IT enterprise. There are so many duties carried out by an application specialist and they are:
Duties and Responsibilities of an Application Specialist
- Resolve problems and answer different questions for users
- Troubleshoots and uses different diagnostic tools to resolve problems always occurring in an application.
- Always proactive and monitoring regular updates on the PCC organization applications.
- Ensure integration between task projects tasks and other activities which they must carry out to meet the needs of stakeholders.
- Must have a clear understanding of how customers or users use the application.
- Provide updates and direction to both student and technical staff.
- Must carry out other responsibilities assigned to them.
- Communicate complex information both written and orally.
Qualifications of an Application Management Specialist
Mostly in every organization before you are accepted to work as a staff you must have good working experience. Good working experience is a criterion and part of the qualification one must have to become an application management specialist.
An application management specialist must be familiar with different software applications, how to use them, and how to manage and improve them. Must have several(two or more than two years) working experience on software support systems.
Web Applications Management
Web applications management is application programs stored on the server of a remote and delivered on the internet through the interface of a browser.
How Web Applications Management Works
You don’t need to download the application because it is accessible through a network. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc. are web browsers that give access to web applications. Without a database, application server, and web server, you cannot use a web application.
Benefits of Web Applications Management
The benefit of web applications management are:
- Multiple people at the same point in time can make use of it
- one can access it using multiple web browsers.
- Through so many platforms using your mobile phones, laptops, so many people can access it.
Applications Management Software
Application management software is a process through which support is provided for the smooth running of applications at their peak and for making sure it’s efficient and effective as possible. Application management software is also the management of applications throughout their life cycles.
Benefits
- Increase and boosts business performance.
- Ensures business continuity.
- Ensures that they optimally manage and improve every application in the organization
- Reduces instability and recurring problems.
- Increase higher productivity and profitability.
- Increase and boost flexibility by decreasing the time needed to build and execute applications.
Key Stakeholders in Application Management Software
- Application users
- Business owners
- Application analysts or application managers
- Developers
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