BTS implemented LeanIX and embarked on its journey toward a lean technology inventory. By utilizing the CMDB and other tools (i.e., System Center Configuration Manager), conducting stakeholder interviews, and combining them with numerous spreadsheets of support groups, views of the IT landscape began to emerge. Finally, related processes, data objects, and business capabilities became visible. Access to LeanIX software was granted to all BTS stakeholders and users. Today, there are around 780 applications and 148 user groups captured in LeanIX, which are supporting more than 150 business capabilities. For the first time, these user groups enjoyed a clear overview of their IT landscape instead of encountering disconnected data silos.
BTS discovered that approximately 60% of the portfolio consisted of archaic technology infrastructure supporting obsolete applications. Not only did this represent a financial drain but also significant redundancies across business capabilities. It explained the difficulty of keeping systems patched, the security issues due to the presence of outdated Java and other legacy technologies, and why IT resources were consumed by increasingly manual efforts to keep virtualized and legacy applications running. Since 1998 BTS accumulated over 500 obsolete applications and 182 redundant IT components in its landscape. That is why BTS used Gartner's TIME (Tolerate, Invest, Migrate, Eliminate) model to measure and map the business value of applications (see Figure 1) and classify them accordingly for further actions.
Figure 1.
Status of Application Portfolio Following the TIME Model
Source: BTS, Pinellas County
A large portion of BTS applications fell under the Migrate category in the TIME model portfolio. These applications are functionally correct i.e. they get the job done but are not technologically correct (not up to date). This is a reflection of the highly constrained budget environment in government agencies.
BTS also has an internal IT cooperative consisting of members from different IT departments who monitor external developments such as the introduction of new technologies in the market and emerging threats around cybersecurity. One of the key tasks of the cooperative is to build strategic alignment of IT across the enterprise by gathering input from all user groups. IT assets are then divided into 4 different categories based on their alignment with business services. Figure 2 shows the number of applications in 4 different categories of strategic alignment at BTS. A similar classification is also applied to the underlying IT components. This strategic alignment ensures that IT not only caters to the current needs of the enterprise but also readies itself for future challenges.
Figure 2.
Applications by Strategic Alignment
Source: BTS, Pinellas County
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