Understanding App Sprawl

What Is App Sprawl?

App sprawl occurs when an organisation’s digital ecosystem expands without strategic oversight, leading to an array of overlapping, redundant, or disconnected applications. It typically starts with well-meaning decentralised decisions: individual teams launch apps to meet specific needs. Over time, these independently developed apps-be they native, progressive web apps (PWAs), or hybrid tools-become a tangled mess.

The results? Customers encounter confusing interfaces and inconsistent functionality. Internally, teams face duplicated efforts, spiralling maintenance costs, and incompatible tech stacks that hinder innovation.

How App Sprawl Happens

App sprawl is common in enterprises due to several compounding factors:

• Organic Growth: As organisations scale, new teams build their own tools without a shared roadmap.

• Decentralised Decision-Making: Business units act independently, each optimising for their unique goals.

• Shifting Tech Trends: Moving from native to web to hybrid creates a patchwork of legacy and modern tools.

• Lack of Central Oversight: Without strong IT governance, coordination breaks down.

  
  

Industries Most Affected by App Sprawl

This phenomenon cuts across industries. Finance, healthcare, and retail frequently suffer from sprawl due to legacy systems and departmental independence. Travel and logistics companies, such as airlines, often develop separate apps for booking, loyalty, and services, creating disjointed user journeys.

According to research by Okta, large enterprises often run over 200 unique apps, with individual departments using 40–60 apps, many of which operate without IT’s involvement.

The Business and Political Impacts

Technical Debt and Redundancy

Every redundant app adds maintenance overhead. Updates become more complex. Security vulnerabilities multiply. When teams work in silos, solutions are built twice or not at all.

User Experience Fragmentation

End users don’t think in silos, but they feel them. Disconnected interfaces force them to jump between apps, log in multiple times, and endure conflicting user experiences.

Real-World Examples of App Sprawl

Delta Airlines

By the mid-2010s, Delta Airlines had a fragmented mobile strategy: separate apps for booking, loyalty, and in-flight services. Customers were frustrated, and support costs soared. In 2017, Delta consolidated these services into the “Fly Delta” app, built on a modular native backend. This unification boosted user satisfaction and simplified internal workflows. The shift was reportedly driven by strong executive support that cut through departmental resistance.

Euro Car Parts

UK-based Euro Car Parts saw sprawl emerge from bolted-on tools around a legacy eCommerce system. Sales and warehousing operated on siloed apps. Real-time stock updates were impossible, and order fulfillment lagged. Their solution was a unified platform integrating inventory, logistics, and customer interfaces via APIs. The result was a 30% reduction in order delays and better internal alignment.

Mayo Clinic

Mayo’s ecosystem once featured distinct patient portals, clinician tools, and billing systems. The complexity overwhelmed patients and frustrated staff. Their pivot involved merging these tools into a single native “Mayo Clinic” app, combining telehealth, billing, and records. This simplification demanded cross-departmental negotiation and was both a technical and political success.

Implementing App Consolidation Successfully

Governance and Strategic Planning

Begin with an app audit. Map the current ecosystem, identify redundancies, and score apps by usage and impact. Use these insights to shape a rationalisation roadmap.

Leadership must own this initiative. Cross-functional buy-in from legal to marketing to operations is essential. App consolidation isn’t a project; it’s a transformation.

Building Cross-Functional Collaboration

Align teams through shared KPIs like customer retention, NPS, and tech debt reduction. Give departments a stake in the outcome through co-design workshops and shared wins.

Maintaining a Unified App Ecosystem

Post-consolidation, ongoing governance is key. Monitor usage analytics, sunset low-value tools, and standardise design systems. Assign app stewardship roles to maintain alignment across business units.

Why App Sprawl Needs to Be Addressed Now

• Cost Efficiency: Consolidation reduces hosting, development, and support costs.

• Customer Retention: A seamless experience encourages engagement and loyalty.

• Competitive Advantage: Lean, integrated platforms allow for faster updates and innovation.

• Future-Proofing: Sprawling ecosystems become brittle. A unified approach adapts better to emerging tech trends like composable architecture and AI-enhanced apps.

  
  

Conclusion

App sprawl is not just a by-product of growth. It’s a sign of misalignment. It erodes user trust, burdens IT, and complicates scaling.

The solution lies in more than code. It requires alignment across people, priorities, and platforms. With the right strategy, strong governance, and a willingness to collaborate, organisations can transform their app chaos into a cohesive digital ecosystem.

Is App Sprawl holding your organisation back? We can help you untangle the complexity and build a clear path forward.