Make informed decisions
Impact analysis before a migration, a choice between two tools, or a continuity plan: every decision rests on real dependencies rather than the memory of a few experts.
The IT landscape map that doesn't die in a spreadsheet
Applications, data flows, infrastructure, teams: your information system changes constantly. The map that describes it often dates back to the last audit. This guide explains what IT landscape mapping is, what it is used for, and how to build a repository that stays usable over time.
What is IT landscape mapping?
IT landscape mapping consists of inventorying the components of your information system (applications, infrastructure, data, processes, teams) and representing the relationships that connect them: who depends on what, who is responsible for what, and which information flows between systems.
The result is not a static drawing. It is a knowledge base that IT departments, architects, security teams and business units use to make decisions: preparing a migration, analyzing an impact, answering an audit, or rationalizing an application portfolio.
A useful map does not only aim to describe the information system. It lets you quickly find the assets affected by a decision and understand the dependencies that can change its consequences.
The topic has changed status: France's ANSSI has dedicated a five-step development guide to it, and the EU's DORA regulation, in force since January 2025, requires financial entities to identify their ICT assets and their interdependencies. Mapping is no longer an exercise reserved for architects: it has become an essential tool for management and resilience.
Three reasons to map your IT landscape
An up-to-date map is not one more deliverable. It turns scattered knowledge into decisions that are clearer and easier to defend.
Meet compliance requirements
Security audits, GDPR or DORA require finding the assets, their owners and their interdependencies. A structured base lets you extract this information without rebuilding it for every request.
Rationalize the application portfolio
Duplicates, end-of-life technologies, orphan applications or underused licenses: the map makes visible the elements to review before a decision to keep, replace or retire them.
No need to be exhaustive: start with what matters
One of the most common causes of failure is trying to inventory everything before producing a first useful view. The project drags on while the information is already starting to age.
Turn the problem around: a limited share of assets usually concentrates most of the risks, dependencies and decisions. Start with the critical assets, the relationships needed for a decision, and the owners able to validate them. Publish a first usable map, then gradually expand the scope.
Our white paper details this approach, inspired by the Pareto principle.
White paper
How to build a Pareto map of your IT landscape and your organization.
Application, business, technical, data: four readings of the same landscape
Each map answers a different question. They benefit, however, from relying on a single repository to avoid discrepancies between inventories and diagrams.
The application map
It describes the application portfolio and its exchanges: which solutions exist, who owns them and which data they share. It is often the starting point for a rationalization or migration effort.
The business capability map
It links business capabilities and processes to the applications that support them. It helps identify functions that are covered, redundant, fragile or insufficiently supported by tools.
The technical map
It represents the infrastructure, hosting, networks, middleware and technologies in use. It is used in particular for security, continuity and obsolescence analysis.
The data map
It shows where data resides, how it flows and who can access it. It helps analyze risks, sensitive flows and governance or compliance obligations.
Where to start: the method in five steps
Frame the question the map must answer
A map without an objective often ends up as a barely used inventory. A migration to prepare, an audit to run, or a portfolio to rationalize: the use case determines the scope, the level of detail and the first views to produce.
Set up a simple metamodel
Define the asset types you need, their properties and the relationships that will let you answer your question. Start with a minimal structure: a metamodel can evolve as new needs appear.
Reuse existing data
Spreadsheets, CMDB exports or legacy inventories are often a first usable source. Import them, choose a stable key, and avoid retyping what already exists.
Connect assets with your teams
Run workshops with application, business, security or infrastructure owners to validate responsibilities, flows and dependencies. Relationships are what separate a map from a simple list.
Publish, share and organize maintenance
Distribute views tailored to users, appoint data owners and integrate the map into everyday decisions. A map used regularly surfaces errors and stale information faster.
How Boldo keeps your map alive
Boldo brings together assets, their relationships and the different views of your IT landscape in a single knowledge base. You feed the repository from what already exists, then tailor each reading to the question at hand.
A connected repository
Each asset has its properties, its relationships, its history and its linked content. The metamodel reflects the asset types and conventions specific to your organization.
Gradual data feeding
Import existing CSV or XLSX files, preview changes before validation, and use the REST API when certain sources need to be synchronized regularly.
Several views of the same data
Inventories, diagrams, charts, nested maps and dashboards all draw on the same base. Roles and access domains determine who can view or edit each scope.
Boldo · Aperçu produit
Go from inventory to impact analysis
Applications, processes, capabilities, teams and technologies stay connected to one another. You can start from an asset, browse its dependencies and identify the elements affected by a change.
When a piece of information changes, the views that use it rely on the same updated data. You move from inventory to diagram or impact analysis without manually rebuilding the context.
An intuitive and flexible solution
Boldo’s intuitive design and flexible metamodel let us map Information Systems and Organizations rapidly.
Thierry Vercruysse
Enterprise Architecture Consultant, Clever Age
An essential tool for any IT department.
An essential tool for any IT department. Boldo provides unmatched visibility to manage our application portfolio and business processes. We now have a solid foundation to transform Antibes into a true Smart City.
Patrick Duverger
Chief Information Officer, City of Antibes Juan-Les-Pins
Boldo has transformed how we discover and map our clients' IS, governance and projects. It aligns Leadership, Business and IT, and saves us weeks per engagement.
Quentin Sureau
Consulting Director · Cartelis · Paris
A map for every role
The same knowledge base meets different expectations depending on who consults it.
- CIO01 / 03
Steer the portfolio and transformations
A consolidated view of assets, costs and dependencies to arbitrate, plan and present decisions to leadership.
Mapping for CIOs - Architects02 / 03
Model and analyze impact
A flexible metamodel, typed relationships and diagrams linked to the repository to analyze changes and structure roadmaps.
Mapping for architects - Consultants03 / 03
Structure and hand off every engagement
Separate contexts per client, fast imports, and a base the client can keep consulting and enriching after the handover.
Mapping for consultants
Get support to start
Our team helps you frame the scope, reuse available data and build the first views. The service adapts to the size of your IT landscape and the objectives of the effort.
Make your teams autonomous
Courses tailored to viewers, editors and administrators help structure the contribution and governance of the map. They are eligible for OPCO funding.
Frequently asked questions about IT landscape mapping
The duration depends on the scope, the quality of existing data and the level of detail sought. A first usable map can be achieved in a few weeks when it focuses on a specific use case and on the most critical assets.
An exhaustive approach takes longer and risks producing information that is already obsolete before the first publication.
Your IT landscape changes every week. Your map can keep up.
Book 30 minutes with our team and discover how to turn your inventory into a living map.
- CSV or XLSX import of your existing data
- Read-only sharing with your stakeholders
- Hosting in France on Scaleway
Schedule your demo
30 minutes dedicated to your map.
By submitting this form, you agree to our Privacy Policy.