Application management can be a significant pain point for businesses. Optimizing multiple applications and ensuring they’re up-to-date can be complex and time-consuming.
There are technical issues and upgrades to manage along with security, and companies can struggle with this. This can lead to decreased productivity, increased downtime, and frustrated employees.
Application management services (AMS) aim to address these problems. AMS providers specialize in handling the challenges associated with managing and securing many applications.
In this article, we’ll learn more about AMS and share how partnering with an AMS provider like Spinnaker Support can help you offload the burden of app management and security so you can focus on core business initiatives.
Understanding application management services and its benefits
Application management services (AMS) refer to the processes, activities, and tools involved in effectively managing and maintaining software applications throughout their lifecycle. These services aim to ensure the complete availability and performance of business applications.
Here are some of the top AMS benefits.
Application monitoring
This refers to continuously monitoring applications to detect any anomalies.
For example, if organizations can track application response times and resource utilization, they can identify bottlenecks and fine-tune the application’s performance to deliver a better user experience.
Incident management
Incident management refers to identifying, analyzing, categorizing, and resolving any application functionality issues. Examples include system crashes, data discrepancies, security breaches, configuration errors, deployment failures, power outages, or user errors.
Activities may involve logging and tracking incidents, assigning appropriate resources, investigating the root cause, implementing temporary workarounds, and resolving the issue to restore regular operation.
Problem management
Problem management encompasses activities such as:
- Problem identification to document issues and incidents
- Root cause analysis to identify underlying problems
- Proactive problem prevention for future incidents
- Resolution management to resolve identified problems
- Knowledge management to document information about issues fixed
Change management
Change management is the structured approach to manage and control application changes, like adding new features or integrating with other systems.
It involves tasks such as identifying the need for change, evaluating the impact and feasibility of proposed changes, prioritizing changes based on business needs, and developing a detailed plan for implementing changes.
Once approved, changes are executed in a controlled manner and communicated to relevant stakeholders.
Release management
Release management involves managing, planning, and coordinating the release of software applications or their updates. It involves tasks like scheduling releases, defining release criteria, coordinating with various teams, managing release documentation, and ensuring the smooth deployment of applications.
Effective release management aims to minimize risks, ensure stability and consistency, and deliver value to end users.
Performance management
Performance management measures key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response time, throughput, and resource utilization to ensure the application meets its performance goals.
Organizations can enhance application reliability, scalability, and efficiency by effectively managing performance.
Security management
Security management refers to implementing measures to protect the applications and the data they handle from unauthorized access, breaches, and other threats.
It includes processes such as identity and access management, vulnerability management, incident response, and security monitoring. With this, organizations can maintain the integrity and confidentiality of their application and their sensitive information.
Capacity management
Capacity management ensures your IT infrastructure has enough resources to meet the demands of the applications running on it.
It involves monitoring and analyzing resource utilization, predicting future capacity requirements, and taking proactive steps to optimize performance and avoid downtime.
Service level management
Service level management helps manage and track the performance of applications to ensure they consistently meet the defined service level agreements (SLAs).
This includes monitoring the availability, response time, and overall performance of the applications and identifying and resolving any issues that may impact the service levels.
Vendor management
Vendor management helps you manage relationships with external vendors who provide services related to software applications. It involves vendor selection, vendor risk assessment to ensure compliance, and contract negotiation.
This ensures that the vendors meet the required standards and deliver their services as agreed. Effective vendor management is crucial in ensuring an organization’s successful delivery and support of applications.
You can reap all these benefits when you work with an AMS provider. What are the reasons you should outsource one? Let’s take a look.
Why outsource an AMS provider?
Outsourcing application management services can streamline operations and enhance the efficiency of your organization’s IT infrastructure.
Here are the top reasons to outsource an AMS provider.
Cost savings
Outsourcing can significantly reduce expenses related to hiring, training, and maintaining an in-house team.
Companies can reduce their operational costs, too. They no longer need to invest in the infrastructure, hardware, and software required to manage AMS.
Access to expertise
Outsourcing allows access to specialized knowledge and experience that may not be available internally, enabling the company to benefit from the provider’s expertise. Providers usually have a pool of skilled professionals with extensive experience managing various application environments.
Experts offer insights and guidance on best practices, innovative solutions, and emerging trends.
Improved efficiency and scalability
AMS providers often have access to advanced tools and technology to streamline processes and automate tasks, resulting in increased efficiency and scalability.
AMS providers also have the infrastructure to scale up or down to meet demand fluctuations quickly.
Enhanced focus
Outsourcing an AMS provider allows businesses to delegate the responsibility of managing and maintaining their applications to a specialized team. Instead of getting down by the day-to-day tasks of application management, internal teams can focus on core business activities.
Risk mitigation
An experienced service provider can help mitigate risks, such as cybersecurity threats and data breaches, by implementing robust security measures.
AMS providers also have established processes and controls to address potential risks, such as disaster recovery plans and proactive monitoring.
Continuous support and monitoring
AMS providers usually offer 24/7 support and monitoring services. They can promptly address any issues or incidents that may arise, ensuring minimal downtime for the business.
Now that we know the benefits of outsourcing an AMS provider, here are some factors to consider before choosing one.
Check the provider’s testimonials on customer review websites and evaluate their track record. Assess the provider’s ability to scale resources and accommodate future growth or changes in your application needs.
You can also review service level agreements (SLAs) and contracts to ensure they align with your business requirements and provide efficient service delivery and performance guarantees.
With that in mind, our AMS offerings at Spinnaker Support can be helpful for you.
How Spinnaker Support’s AMS can help
Spinnaker Support’s AMS is a comprehensive managed service that provides support and maintenance for Salesforce, Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle E-Business Suite, and JD Edwards applications.
Our service includes 24/7/365 access to expert support, proactive monitoring, and regular patching and updates to ensure system stability and security.
Spinnaker Support’s team of certified technicians assists with issue resolution, system administration, and customizable service levels based on specific requirements. We also leverage agile methodologies to improve your application’s efficiency and effectiveness.
Our essential services include:
- Customized application development
- Issue resolution and consultation
- Performance optimization and tuning
- Third-party solution integrations
- Assistance in deployments
- Log tracking
- Proactive health monitoring
- App configuration
- User administration and user interface support
- Change management
- User training
Let’s take an in-depth look at some of our expertise.
Configuration
At Spinnaker Support, we provide configuration support aligned with your business processes and industry-based best practices.
Configuration support includes the ability to customize and adjust system parameters, such as database settings, user permissions, workflows, and access controls. It can also involve tailoring the system to meet the company’s specific needs, such as customizing fields, forms, and reports.
Consulting services
Organizations want to plan the development and evolution of software applications strategically. For example, they may want to set priorities and timelines for future enhancements. For this, Spinnaker experts provide you with consulting services for roadmap planning.
We also support you in creating proofs-of-concept (POCs), augmenting your staff, and even performing installations and upgrades.
In addition, we can help you execute cloud migration strategies. For example, we helped Syufy Enterprises migrate from JD Edwards World to OneWorld Xe. Our experts helped them lower their IT costs and enhance the operational efficiencies of their JD Edwards infrastructure.
Full-stack security and regulatory support
We provide security for all layers of your ERP apps, not just databases. Our Seven-Point Security Solution defines our security.
Our services are ITIL-based and can be customized for your applications. Spinnaker Support also has ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and ISO 9001:2015 certifications.
We continuously monitor your applications’ health and security and provide regular health assessments and reports.
In addition, you can also benefit from application and repository fixes to maintain the integrity and performance of software systems. Application fixes address bugs, vulnerabilities, and other issues that may arise during the development or usage of an application, and repository fixes involve resolving issues with version control systems, such as restoring lost or corrupted code.
Spinnaker Support specializes in supporting integrity reporting, batch errors, and interface breakdowns. Integrity issues can cause problems in reporting. If you opt for traditional support, you must research, locate, and fix the problems yourself. But with AMS, you can rely on us to do all three.
We also offer detailed tax, regulatory, and compliance reports and updates applicable to your country.
Comprehensive, single-vendor support
If you’re an SAP or Oracle user, you may be subscribed to their support. However, publisher support is costly, and you may not even get extensive support for custom code or interoperability issues (common in application development). Plus, they may persuade you to upgrade to new releases yearly, which can add up costs.
However, if you don’t want to upgrade, Spinnaker Support can help, as we have a ‘no sunset’ support policy. In addition, we can reduce support costs by 62%. And the best part? You can merge services, support, and consulting — all with one vendor and strategic partner.
This is why our customers like us and gave us a 96.3% customer satisfaction score in 2022.
Fast response
With traditional support, you may not get quick response days. Some publishers may take a business day or more to respond to your tickets.
We do it differently. When you raise a ticket with Spinnaker Support, our average response time is 8 minutes. We guarantee that you’ll get the support you deserve whenever and wherever you need it.
Most publishers want you to discover and fix the issue yourself (with their knowledge base documents) and only then raise a ticket. In addition, in response to your issues, they’d want you to upgrade to a newer software version as a ‘fix.’ However, that’s not always the right way.
Here’s an example to prove this. After an Office 365 update, a retail bank experienced broken integration between Office email and Siebel. When they asked for troubleshooting support from Oracle, their solution was to upgrade the Siebel version, something that the bank wasn’t too keen on.
With Spinnaker Support, the solution was simple. We built an alternative integration between Office 365 and Siebel and solved the problem.
Experienced team of engineers
Our engineers have an average of 15 years of experience. From the first call to the final issue resolution, you get only experienced engineers (Levels 2 and 3). Level 4 engineers are available if the issue escalates.
Every client gets a personal Account Support Lead (ASL) to maintain personalization. You also get a multi-disciplinary team based on geographic reach, app and technology stack footprint, industry designation, and business/IT roadmap.
Our core team members have worked with each other for over a decade — this helps maintain team stability and retain client’s unique information.
Book a consultation call with Spinnaker Support AMS experts
AMS play a vital role in optimizing software applications for businesses that want to adapt well to the constantly changing landscape of software management.
Spinnaker Support can help you effectively navigate application management challenges and achieve success. To know more, you can fill out this short form, and one of our experts will get back to you.
