Executive Summary

A large global bank faced a major challenge: its unwieldy application portfolio, which included over 3,000 systems, was costing $750 million annually in maintenance , stifling innovation. Partnering with Strategy Go , a leader in technology spend optimization, the bank launched a bold initiative to rationalize its application portfolio. Using Strategy Go’s Business Capability T.I.M.E.4 Simplicity framework —an expanded version of the industry-standard T.I.M.E. methodology—the bank successfully decommissioned 533 applications , achieving $12 million in annual licensing savings .

Key Results:

Cost Savings: $12 million in annual licensing reductions
Applications Decommissioned: 533 redundant applications retired
Net Application Reduction: Reduced complexity with more decommissioned applications than new launches
Operational Efficiency: Freed-up resources redirected toward innovation and strategic initiatives
Future Potential: Identified 2 follow up programs to deliver $162 Million in savings, one was executed that delivered $102 million in savings
ROI: A 24x return on a $500,000 engagement over two years, driven by $12 million in annual savings—and potentially higher returns as additional efficiencies are realized

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The Journey to Simplicity

The Challenge

The bank’s technology ecosystem resembled a sprawling digital jungle. With over 3,000 applications consuming $750 million annually —a significant yet typical cost for large organizations, averaging $250,000 per system —the bank struggled to innovate under mounting costs.

“There are too many systems. Surely, even a bank our size doesn’t need so many,” said the Group Head of Technology and Operations. “The complexity is hurting us—not just financially, but also by hindering our ability to innovate and compete in a rapidly evolving market.”

Partnering with Strategy Go , a firm renowned for its expertise in technology spend optimization, the mission was clear: rationalize the application portfolio, cut costs, and free up resources for innovation. However, achieving this would require more than just technical expertise—it demanded a fundamental shift in mindset across the organization.

Overcoming Cultural Resistance

Initial meetings revealed a deeply ingrained belief: If an application wasn’t needed, it would have already been decommissioned. - “We must be getting value from everything we run,” said a senior leader. “Otherwise, it would have been turned off by now.”

Meanwhile, the architecture team maintained that no application could be turned off without a replacement. - “You can’t just unplug something. It needs to be replaced,” one architect insisted.

This caution initially slowed the project’s momentum.

The Breakthrough: A Structured Approach

Strategy Go introduced their proprietary Business Capability T.I.M.E.4 Simplicity framework , which categorizes applications based on business value and technical fit into four categories:

Tolerate: Applications functional but not prioritized for investment.
Invest: Critical systems requiring further investment for growth.
Migrate: Applications to be moved to newer platforms for better performance.
Eliminate: Redundant or outdated applications to be decommissioned.

The Eliminate category was further divided into four subcategories, collectively referred to as the "Four E’s":

Planned and Funded: Applications already slated for decommissioning.
Unplanned and Unfunded: Applications without funding or support for decommissioning.
Elimination Challenge: Systems with some value but far outweighing costs.
Consolidate: Multiple applications providing the same capability. Users can simply be migrated at low effort and cost to a single system.

The Elimination Challenge proved transformative, as application owners were forced to justify the value of their systems. One owner admitted, “I never realized how much this system was costing us until I had to explain its value.” It was this Elimination Challenge category that drove the results of this engagement.

While the bank was not yet ready to engage with the Consolidate category, it allowed the bank to start considering streamlining operations by eliminating duplicate systems for the first time. laying the foundation for a follow-up engagement. A subsequent program focused specifically on consolidation, delivered by Strategy Go , achieved over $102 million in confirmed savings —a testament to the power of the Business Capability T.I.M.E.4 Simplicity framework . This follow-up engagement is covered in a separate case study.

Driving Change

To ensure success, Strategy Go implemented a strong change management approach, using only basic tools such as Outlook and SharePoint to engage application owners, request detailed cost and usage data, and achieve exceptionally high engagement and action across the organization. This process revealed siloed finance and IT operations but eventually led to identifying 1,000 applications for potential elimination or consolidation .

Ultimately, 533 applications were decommissioned , yielding $12 million in annual licensing savings .

Unlocking Future Savings

The two-year engagement streamlined the bank’s operations, freeing up resources for innovation and setting a new standard for efficiency. It also identified two key follow-up initiatives with significant potential for additional savings:

Enhanced Tracking Framework: This initiative optimized the allocation of IT operational effort and improved data centre capacity tracking. It revealed a roadmap to unlock $50 million in additional savings for every $10 million in license savings through infrastructure and personnel optimization.
System Consolidation Program: Focused on removing duplicate systems, this initiative achieved over $102 million in confirmed savings during a subsequent engagement.

The engagement underscored the importance of robust financial tracking processes and cross-functional collaboration to maximize long-term value. These insights laid the foundation for sustained operational excellence and positioned the bank to achieve transformative results in future phases.

Key Challenges and Solutions

Challenges:

The annual cost to run an application: Each application at the bank cost $250,000 annually to keep in service.
Cultural Resistance: Stakeholders were reluctant to challenge existing applications.

Solutions Implemented:

Application Rationalization: Categorized applications using the Business Capability T.I.M.E.4 Simplicity framework .
Elimination Challenge: Encouraged stakeholders to assess the true value of systems.
Change Management: Fostered organizational buy-in through consistent communication.

Outcomes and ROI

Cost Savings: $12 million in annual licensing reductions
Net Application Reduction: Decommissioned more applications than new launches, reducing complexity
Operational Efficiency: Freed-up resources for innovation
Future Roadmap: Identified 2 follow up programs to deliver $162 Million in savings, one was executed that delivered $102 million in savings.
ROI: A 24x return on a $500,000 engagement over two years, driven by $12 million in annual savings—and potentially higher returns as additional efficiencies are realized

Lessons Learned

Cultural Change is Essential: Beware of the “intuitively obvious truths” within an organization. They are usually specific to an organizations culture, so a difficult to plan for and are hard to navigate.
Process is Key: Robust tracking processes are crucial to capturing savings.
Sustainability Matters: Ongoing focus on application reduction ensures long-term success.
Collaboration Drives Success: Cross-functional alignment between IT, finance, and operations is critical, requiring a resource fluent in all three domains.
Complexity Reduction is a Goal on Its Own: Cleaning up clutter is a low-effort task with multiple dimensions of benefit.
Incremental Progress Leads to Big Wins: Initial programs lay the groundwork for larger-scale initiatives, as demonstrated by the follow-up consolidation program that delivered over $102 million in savings.

Conclusion

The partnership between the large global bank and Strategy Go demonstrates the transformative impact of aligning technology spend with business strategy. By rationalizing its application portfolio using the Business Capability T.I.M.E.4 Simplicity framework , the bank not only realized a 24x ROI but also identified a clear path to unlocking even greater value. The follow-up consolidation program, which delivered over $102 million in confirmed savings, underscores the long-term benefits of this structured approach.

Application Rationalization at a Large Global Bank