Why to outsource the maintenance of my apps?

2 April, 2020 |

Most companies invest more and more resources in the administration and maintenance of their applications, as a result of continuing adding technologies with different functionalities, making the business more competitive. Due to the increasing investment of these efforts, there are several IT leaders who have resorted to outsourcing application maintenance.

This type of strategy has several benefits, such as focusing the talent of the company in key areas with greater added value, such as innovation and optimization of processes.
In addition, when outsourcing is chosen in the administration and maintenance of applications, it is known that companies can guarantee performance on predetermined services for their support and requirements, as well as in personnel destined to invest valuable time in the transfer of knowledge of the support of this apps.

Thanks to outsourcing, the company’s procedures and processes that directly intervene in the administration and maintenance of IT systems can be optimized, while achieving full visibility of each support and performance service with respect to SLAs.

What is Applications Management Services (AMS)?
The concept of AMS is based on outsourcing the support requirements of an application, using an external provider specialized in monitoring, reviewing and maintaining any application. In other words, AMS refers to the action of delegating certain procedures that preferably should not be performed by an internal IT team, simply because it is more efficient to be performed by an expert agent.

Do my company need AMS?
To decide if it is time to apply AMS in a company, the following should be considered:

  • The cost of maintenance and monitoring of applications is increasing.
  • Every application usually has failures, problems or incidents that must wait up to 24 hours or more for the fault to be determined and repaired.
  • Usually, the internal development team does not usually have enough experience because the complexity of the topic requires a unique approach and constant research.
  • It is also important in case some member of the team leaves the company and does not leave the necessary documentation to transfer information.

Types of AMS that can be applied to a company:
When we talk about outsourcing, companies can opt for at least two formulas:

  • Complete outsourcing: A total service is expected from the supplier, which is why it is responsible for the complete management of activities related to supporting, updating and optimization of applications. In this way, the provider must provide not only technological services but also offer recommendations and ideas to optimize and evolve the applications in a more beneficial way according to the new business requirements. In addition, it should be responsible for structuring, facilitating and implementing relevant digital innovation initiatives.
  • Selective outsourcing: In this case, the supplier is entrusted with the management of only a certain aspect of the application management that can be to solve problems or make the application more efficient. You can also delegate a set of specific aspects such as monitoring, performance management, troubleshooting and incidents and updating the application.

Benefits of implementing AMS in a company:

  • Technical support and permanent monitoring: the outsourcing provider is in charge of the central operations, so the resignation of a team member, absence from vacations or medical rest will no longer be a concern for the company, nor for the rest of the team. With an AMS partner, no one will have to take on additional work and increased stress during the training and hiring process.
  • Access to all the technological innovations: delegating the review and maintenance of the applications to a specialized provider that provides solutions focused on AMS, is also an opportunity to obtain all the new technology that is being developed in the area. Most managed service providers have expert professionals in a wide variety of applications.
  • Taking advantage of outsourcing to optimize additional services: when outsourcing with a solution provider that offers good results, you can also entrust other core functions of the company to that same provider. It is a great advantage because this provider has knowledge about how your business operates so you can provide ideas or solutions for additional services that help improve the company in general.
  • Greater opportunity for the company to grow: If the scope of the project that the outsourced team is taking care of or the portfolio of applications increases, it is much easier to scale and include more members who can keep up with the growth challenges of the company.
  • The risk of downtime is minimized: outsourcing for application maintenance guarantees the continuity of IT work and reduces any downtime that can affect both the company and customers. Because the AMS team is responsible for optimizing or implementing new systems or new technologies, the rest of the company’s team can remain focused on the core business.

Conclusion
The AMS provider assumes the responsibility of managing a good part or all of its client’s applications, it all depends on what the company needs. This service focuses on making the management, implementation or solutions of the problems that arise more efficiently, in order to increase the commercial value of the applications.

An AMS team not only focuses on important aspects such as cost savings, but it can also address the strategic requirements of the companies that hire them. The best thing about this service is that they will know for sure the value of applications and chart a route for their future evolution.