In any industry, decommissioning processes occur. In the navy or aviation industries, for example, older ships or aeroplanes are decommissioned when they become too costly or dangerous to operate. They are replaced with newer, safer, and more financially viable options. Similarly, many applications are decommissioned in the IT sector when they no longer add value to the organisation or serve their original purpose. Old applications can cost companies a fortune and eat up chunks of their dedicated IT budget. Moreover, they can also result in security breaches. This is why so many organisations use professionals to decommission old applications in safe and secure ways. Unfortunately, application decommissioning (Daas) isn’t as simple as deleting old applications. Many companies need to keep historical legacy data for legal or financial reasons. Thus, the information needs to be safely stored and retained.
This is where professional application decommissioning becomes essential. The process can be understood as “a strategic approach for systematically retiring outdated and costly legacy applications—without compromising business needs or compliance requirements.”
There are several reasons why companies decommission older applications with the professional services of IT experts. These include:
- Cost Savings: Older or outdated programs can cost companies a great deal of money to run and licence. Application decommissioning services can cut these costs and allow companies to inject their budgets into financially viable solutions and applications instead.
- Enhanced Security: Legacy applications hold confidential information. If this data got into the wrong hands, it could cost companies thousands. This is why it’s paramount that organisations opt for professional application decommissioning services where information will be stored safely and securely.
- The Correct Protocols: Professional application decommissioning services will also mean that the process follows all the necessary protocols. These include informing all parties of commencement of the decommissioning process, disabling access to the application while decommissioning occurs, backing up all data and saving it securely, removing any related software or hardware, transferring ownership of any assets, performing audits, and deleting accounts.
- A Clear Timeline: When you opt for our Daas service, you will receive a clear timeline of every step involved in the process. Generally, our approach includes eight steps, namely: the initiation phase, analysis, planning phase, communication plan, decommission plan, CAB (a change management process), the execution of the plan, and the post-implementation phase.
Consult the IT Experts at Fourier IT for Specialised Application Decommissioning Services
Whether you want to decommission costly legacy applications, boost security with our internally developed biometric access control technology, or upgrade existing systems to meet current demands, our expert IT team are always on hand to assist. We have worked in numerous industries across the South African landscape, including finance, mining, and engineering, and have over two decades of experience in IT. We approach every client and every job with professionalism, confidentiality, and five-star service. Get in touch for more information on our application decommissioning service, among others, and we will gladly be of assistance.