Discovery Reports provide downloadable Excel reports that help you analyze how applications are used across departments, countries, and business processes.

The reports combine application usage, user activity, compliance information, risk-related attributes, and user segmentation. You can use them for application reviews, governance activities, compliance checks, license optimization, audit preparation, and management reporting.

This guide explains how Discovery Reports work, what data they contain, how to select the reporting period, and how to use the results for governance and analysis.

Before You Start

Before generating a Discovery Report:

• App Discovery must be available and collecting or containing Discovery data.
• You need access to the Discovery area in the AppNavi Portal.
• Applications and user activity must be available for the selected reporting period.
• If you are working with a newly created tenant, you can use Discovery Demo Data to explore the reports with sample data.

For more information, see App Discovery and Discovery Demo Data.

How Discovery Reports Work

The typical workflow is:

Collect Discovery data → Open App Overview → Select a report → Select the reporting period → Generate Excel report → Analyze the results → Take governance or business action

Discovery collects application usage information from supported Discovery events. The available report data is then aggregated for the selected reporting period.

Reports only contain data that meets the criteria for the selected time period.

What Data Does Discovery Use?

Discovery reports are based on application and user activity data available in Discovery.

Depending on the report, the exported data can include:

• Application
• Department
• Country
• Business Process
• Total Users
• User activity segmentation
• Average Daily Usage per User
• Data Classification
• PII information
• Criticality
• Data Residency
• AI application information

The exact fields depend on the selected report.

Discovery activity includes information such as the application URL, user identifier, session information, timestamp, and activity time. Discovery records activity time based on user interaction with the web page and does not record user input.

Important Data Consideration

Report results depend on the Discovery data available for the selected period.

For example, if an application was not used during the selected period, it will not contribute usage data to the report for that period.

Accessing Discovery Reports

To generate a report:

1. Open the AppNavi Portal.

2. Navigate to Discovery.

3. Open App Overview.

4. Click the three-dot menu.

5. Select the required report type.

6. Select the reporting period.

7. Choose one of the available date ranges:

   • 30 Days
   • 90 Days
   • All Time
   • Custom Date Range

8. Generate the report.

9. Discovery downloads the report as an Excel file containing aggregated metrics and user segmentation details.

Understanding the Reporting Period

The selected reporting period determines which Discovery data is included in the generated report.

Example

If you select Last 30 Days, the report contains data that meets the report criteria during that period.

If you select Last 90 Days, the same report can provide a broader view of application adoption and user activity.

The date range should therefore be selected based on the question you are trying to answer.

Filters and Report Scope

The documented report generation workflow provides a date-range selection when creating the report.

The App Overview itself also provides filters such as:

• Country
• Organizational Unit
• Department

These filters can change the applications and analytics displayed in App Overview. They are useful when investigating a particular user population before reviewing application details.

For example:

Country: Germany
Organizational Unit: IT
Department: Development

The App Overview then reflects the selected user population.

Important: Do not assume that every App Overview filter is an independent filter available inside every exported Discovery Report. The documented report workflow specifically requires selecting the report type and reporting period.

Available Reports

1. Process Coverage & IT Support Report

What it shows

This report shows how applications are used across business processes and departments, including the frequency of user activity.

Main fields

How to use it

Use this report when you need to understand:

• Which applications support important business processes
• Which departments depend on an application
• Where application usage is concentrated
• Where additional IT support or enablement may be required

Example

Suppose the Procure to Pay process uses an application heavily in Finance but only occasionally in another department.

The report can help IT understand where support demand is concentrated and where additional user enablement may be useful.

---

2. App Usage by Department/Process Report

What it shows

This report provides a department-level view of application adoption across business processes.

Main fields

How to use it

This report can help identify:

• Differences in application adoption between departments
• Underused applications
• Multiple applications being used for similar processes
• Potential opportunities for license or application optimization

Example

If two departments use different applications for the same business process, compare their user counts and activity levels.

This can provide a starting point for an application rationalization or license review.

---

3. Shadow IT / Unplanned Usage Report

What it shows

This report focuses on unapproved or Shadow IT applications that are not part of the official IT catalog.

Main fields

How to use it

Use this report to identify:

• Applications being used without official IT approval
• Departments relying on unapproved applications
• Applications that may involve personal or sensitive data
• Applications that require security, compliance, or governance review

Example

A department may use an online tool that is not part of the organization's approved application catalog.

If the report shows that the tool is used by many employees and handles sensitive data, the application can be prioritized for further review.

4. Data Flow / Compliance Report

What it shows

This report connects application usage with data sensitivity and classification information.

Main fields

How to use it

This report can support:

• Data-protection reviews
• Privacy assessments
• Security investigations
• Identification of applications handling PII
• Audit preparation
• Prioritization of applications for further review

Example

If an application is associated with Customer data and indicates that PII is involved, a compliance team can use the report as a starting point for reviewing how that application is used and whether additional controls are required.

---

5. Risk & Usage Report

The Risk & Usage Report focuses on Shadow Applications and combines usage information with risk-related application attributes.

What it shows

It helps answer three basic questions:

1. Which unapproved applications are being used?
2. Who is using them and how frequently?
3. What risk-related characteristics are associated with them?

Main fields

How to use it

The report can support:

• Shadow IT reviews
• Security assessments
• Compliance assessments
• Risk remediation
• Audit preparation
• IT governance activities

Example

An unapproved application has:

• High criticality
• Sensitive data usage
• Users in multiple departments
• High daily usage

This combination provides a clear reason for the application to be reviewed by the appropriate IT, Security, or Compliance team.

The report itself does not replace your organization's risk assessment process. It provides data that can support that process.

---

6. AI Innovation Adoption Report

What it shows

The AI Innovation Adoption Report measures the use of applications identified as AI-powered.

It provides visibility into AI application adoption across departments and countries.

Main fields

How to use it

The report can support:

• AI adoption analysis
• Department-level comparisons
• AI enablement planning
• Digital transformation planning
• AI investment discussions
• Understanding actual engagement with AI applications

Example

If the report shows that the Engineering department has a higher AI adoption rate than other departments, leadership can use this information to investigate existing use cases and identify where additional AI enablement may be appropriate.

The report describes usage and adoption; it does not by itself measure whether an AI application is beneficial or appropriate for a particular business purpose.

Understanding User Segmentation

Several Discovery Reports use three activity-frequency segments:

• Power Users
• Regular Users
• Occasional Users

These segments help you understand how frequently users engage with an application during the selected reporting period.

The underlying Discovery documentation defines the segments based on average active days per week:

Only users who accessed the application at least once during the selected period are counted.

Example

Consider an application with 100 users:

• 20 Power Users
• 50 Regular Users
• 30 Occasional Users

This tells you how usage is distributed across the application's users. It does not mean that Power Users are necessarily more important or that Occasional Users are underperforming.

Understanding Average Daily Usage

Avg. Daily Usage/User represents the average activity time per user per day for the selected reporting period.

For example, if a report shows:

Avg. Daily Usage/User: 25 minutes

this indicates that the reported users averaged 25 minutes of activity per day during the selected period.

Use this metric together with Total Users and the user segments rather than interpreting it in isolation.

How to Validate a Report

After downloading a report, perform the following checks:

1. Confirm that the selected report type is correct.
2. Confirm that the selected date range matches the period you want to analyze.
3. Check that applications shown in the report are expected.
4. Review the Total Users column.
5. Review the user segmentation.
6. Check department and country information where available.
7. Review risk, compliance, data, or AI-related fields depending on the report.
8. Compare the results with the corresponding Discovery information when investigating an individual application.
9. Use the Excel data for further analysis or internal reporting.

Using Reports for Governance

Discovery Reports can support different governance workflows.

Application Governance

Use application usage information to identify:

• Highly used applications
• Underused applications
• Applications used across multiple departments
• Applications that may require formal ownership or review

Security and Compliance

Use risk and compliance reports to identify applications that may require:

• Security assessment
• Privacy review
• Data-protection review
• Risk classification
• Follow-up investigation

Shadow IT Management

Use Shadow IT reports to:

1. Identify an unapproved application.
2. Determine which departments use it.
3. Review the number of users.
4. Review data and risk-related attributes.
5. Assess whether the application requires further investigation.
6. Apply the organization's governance process.

License and Cost Review

Usage information can help identify applications with:

• High adoption
• Low adoption
• Different adoption levels across departments
• Potentially overlapping usage

The report provides usage evidence that can be considered during license and application optimization.

Concrete Governance Example

Scenario

An organization discovers that a previously unknown AI application is being used by the Finance department.

Step 1 — Identify Usage

Use the Shadow IT / Unplanned Usage Report or Risk & Usage Report to identify the application and its users.

Step 2 — Understand the Scope

Review:

• Total users
• Department
• Country
• Average daily usage
• User activity segmentation

Step 3 — Review Risk Information

Check available information such as:

• Personal data
• Sensitive data
• Criticality
• Data residency
• AI application status

Step 4 — Investigate

The appropriate IT, Security, Compliance, or business owner can review the application according to the organization's governance process.

Step 5 — Take Action

Depending on the organization's policies, the application may be:

• Reviewed for approval
• Added to an application governance process
• Assessed for security or compliance
• Monitored for continued usage
• Included in an application rationalization exercise

The appropriate action depends on the organization's internal policies and risk-management process.

Related Documentation

• App Discovery — Understand how applications are discovered, what Discovery data is collected, and how Discovery analytics work.
• Discovered Apps Overview — Review discovered applications, time periods, filters, application metrics, and application-level analytics.
• Discovery Demo Data — Import sample Discovery data to explore Discovery functionality on a test tenant.