Application Management Services: Keep critical IT systems running and ready for the future

Critical IT systems in both public and private organizations need regular monitoring, maintenance, and further development. With Application Management Services, you can be certain that your systems are always under full supervision, meet all the agreed criteria, and are ready for new needs and requirements.

Large-scale IT systems, whether public or private, require constant and careful attention throughout their lifetimes. Besides basic maintenance and operation, these systems often need updating, and new functions need to be developed because of changes in business needs or political decisions.

Critical IT systems often represent considerable functional and economic value, and they often have to service an organization for more than a decade. This requires care and maintenance all the way. Even if a system is outdated, there may be a need to extend the lifetime for a while, until a new system can be selected and implemented.

If you fail to take maintenance seriously, it’s easy to find yourself at a technological dead end, which may be difficult and expensive to get out of.

What is Application Management Services?

Application Management Services (AMS) is a structured approach to ensure that your IT systems and applications are always fully functional: both now and in the future.

AMS doesn’t only cover day-to-day operations and support; it also ensures systematic needs analysis, as well as updates and further development throughout the lifetime of the system.

With AMS, you always have a full overview of the actual condition of the system and a strong basis for prioritizing new functions and requirements to be incorporated in future versions.

Compliance with requirements for public-sector IT systems

AMS is particularly relevant in a public-sector context. Today, most government authorities are subject to requirements for detailed mapping their portfolio of IT systems, and requirements for an up-to-date IT action plan to set the direction for strategic management and development. These action plans have to undergo a mandatory review at the National ICT Council every three years.

At NNIT, we have extensive experience with AMS for public customers. Our approach is consistent with recommendations in the model for portfolio management of government IT systems from the Agency for Public Finance and Management. The model is composed of six mapping dimensions, which form the basis for completion of an IT action plan and they support the authorities in establishing an overview of their portfolio of IT systems.

The six dimensions are:

1. Support – the ability of the IT system to support the needs and processes of the organization.
   
   
2. Technical condition – the condition of the IT system assessed on parameters such as maintenance, further development options, possibilities for scaling to future needs, and use of standard adapters.
   
   
3. Documentation and knowledge – the presence of relevant, accurate and complete documentation of IT systems.
   
   
4. Budget – a transparent overview of costs and the value of potential investments.
   
   
5. Contracts and sourcing – the extent to which work on the IT system is outsourced to external suppliers and cooperation partners, as well as future plans for tendering procedures.
   
   
6. Security – analysis of relevant security measures, including risk assessment, updates, emergency response plan and the ISO 27001 certification.

At NNIT, we can meet all of your AMS needs

Regardless of whether you come from a public authority or a private company, we’re ready to help you with all aspects of AMS, both for custom-built IT systems and for commercial systems such as SAP.

With a background in pharma, NNIT has developed from a strictly regulated sector, and concepts such as compliance, validation and cyber security are part of our DNA.

At NNIT, we also have experience in lifetime extension of critical IT systems, including in the use of low-code, so that it is possible to continue development of priority functions without risking making old technology unstable.

At NNIT, you are secured a partner who can work smoothly with your own organization and apply agile working methods such as DevOps and DeveloperExperience (DX) to ensure progress in the important projects.

We’re keen to share our experience with AMS, and you’re welcome to contact us for more information about the area.

So let us meet all your AMS needs to secure your critical IT systems: both now and in the future.