Application rationalization can be defined as a process designed to justify the existence of an application within your portfolio. To properly perform app rationalization, you need to create and adhere to a set of criteria that can help you make the best decisions for your business. The primary goal should be to answer the following question about each app: Does this application provide any business value to the organization? If the answer is ‘no’, the most likely action is to drop the app from your portfolio, or at least define it as an unmanaged application. Of course there will be exceptions to this rule, but more often than that it should be the most important question you ask.

Many other factors can effect your rationalization decisions as well. Some examples may be: how many people are using the application, if there are other applications within your portfolio that perform the same function, or if there are multiple versions of the same application that you are managing. While this information can be collected internally, outside factors like End of Support dates, and application age should also weigh heavily in determining your plan of action. The benefits of a better-managed portfolio are vast, and the more intelligence you have on your applications, the better equipped you are to make the best modernization or retirement decisions.

Original post can be found here: http://futurestateit.com/2013/02/21/blogobjective-of-rationalization/ 

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