Companies, including your own I bet, are constantly seeking ways to minimize expenses and optimize their operations, especially when it comes to expenses that could easily be reduced like third-party systems. One area that has recently come under scrutiny is the application stack of the company. With varying financial outcomes and the possibility of an economic downturn, many businesses are looking for ways to streamline their app usage and avoid app exhaustion. "App fatigue" is also a term that is used more and more, as employees are expected to use dozens - if not hundreds - of tools during their day-to-day work. In this post, we will explore four strategies to tackle app fatigue and optimize your app stack, and learning how you can use Varolio to help you.

Perform an App Stack Audit to Spot Redundant Apps

The first move in optimizing your app stack is to perform an audit of your applications. An audit means going over each app, evaluating how the company uses it, which employees use it, for what purposes, and of course its cost. This should be done twice, with the initial audit providing a clear picture of the scenario. This information will enable you to understand what's going on and begin optimizing your app stack. Not all unused apps are worthless, but not all apps being used are worth retaining. Once you've identified the apps that are genuinely useless, you can begin eliminating them from your stack.

Centralize Access for App Users

To minimize app exhaustion, you can centralize access to your apps in one location. Products such as Wavebox, Station, Franz, and Shift function as a single entry point for workplace applications. These products are intended to minimize friction that leads to app fatigue by providing features such as multi-account login and unified search. Some of these platforms also provide app usage reports to help you determine which apps are worth retaining. Varolio can help you enable apps and connections to users, based on their permissions, groups, and needs.

Combine Apps and App Accounts

In businesses with substantial app stacks, it's common to see two or more applications with similar functions in use, sometimes even by the same teams. This redundancy contributes to app exhaustion and fatigue. Similarly, inactive accounts/seats within a single app are problematic as they squander valuable resources and time. You can address this problem by eliminating redundant applications and seats, making your employees' lives simpler by removing friction and noise from their routine. You can use Varolio to transfer data from the apps you want to eliminate to the apps you want to retain.

Purpose-Driven Automation

Automation is a win-win situation for the company. It keeps processes running smoothly in the background while freeing up time and money. As app stacks expand, automation becomes even more critical to ensure clean, traceable data flows, reduce friction, and retain all necessary features. Varolio excels in automation and can be a lifesaver for teams that are stretched too thin and on the verge of burnout due to exhaustion. This is the most crucial point - talented people do not want to feel like they waste their time doing repetitive, low-impact tasks. Although those tasks must be completed, throwing smart people at the problem is fixing the symptoms, not the root. Automations solve this problem by doing some work ahead of time, but saving hundreds of hours (or even more) in the long term. The automations with Varolio are simple, so you should automate any task that can be automated, and create internal tools to integrate those automations and processes.

Conclusion

Minimizing app exhaustion is essential to alleviate the pressure on teams, reduce security risks, improve productivity, and keep everyone motivated. Solutions for app fatigue do not necessitate the immediate elimination of the tech stack. Instead, eliminate useless applications with surgical precision, concentrate on critical functions, and utilize market-proven solutions to minimize friction. Platforms such as Varolio play a vital role in reducing app fatigue by integrating a vast app stack, ensuring that everyone receives the data they require without wasting countless hours on related tasks, and scaling processes and operations with minimal friction. With the strategies listed above, and focusing on the right automations, you'll be able to start utilizing technology more deliberately and regain full control of your app stack for a more gratifying, productive user (and employee) experience.