The Top Applications report, available in all ActivTrack plans, shows the top applications teams and individuals use to understand the ROI of technology investments, ensure role alignment, and improve processes and training.
To access the Top Applications report, navigate to Live Reports > Top Applications.
Tip: Add the Top Applications report to your Favorites for quick access.
The Top Applications Report
Contents
- When to use the Top Applications report
- Navigating the Top Applications report
- Practical applications
- Learn more
When to use the Top Applications report
The Top Applications report shows which applications your team uses most frequently and for how long. This data helps you:
- Ensure application usage aligns with job roles
- Monitor software compliance
Note: Anything set to the Ignore category inside Settings > Classifications will be excluded from these reports. You can read more about this feature here.
Navigating the Top Applications report
Filter settings
Like other Live Reports in ActivTrak, the Top Applications report can be filtered by user, group, and time range using the drop-down filter menu options at the top of the report. Click the Refresh button after making your selections to ensure they are applied.
You can also filter by productivity classification to show only Productive, Unproductive, or Undefined applications, helping you focus on specific aspects of application usage.
Quick Stats
Click to expand the Quick Stats menu to see a breakdown of time by productivity category. In Summary View, you'll see time broken down into Productive, Unproductive, and Undefined categories. Switch to Detailed View for further categorization of time using applications as either Active or Passive.
Quick Stats: Summary View
Quick Stats: Detailed View
Using the Top Applications report
The report is displayed in two sections:
The left panel shows the application name, its productivity classification, the time spent in the application and the percentage of overall application usage, sorted from highest to lowest duration. In Summary View, you will see the total time spent using the applications. Switch to Detailed View for a breakdown by Active and Passive time.
The icon to the left of each application indicates its productivity classification:
- Teal: Productive applications
- Purple: Unproductive applications
- Gray: Undefined applications (not yet classified)
You can change an application’s Activity Classification (Productive, Unproductive, or Undefined) directly from this report by clicking the Update Application Classifications button above the right panel. Group Classifications allow you to tailor which applications are considered productive based on each team's specific needs. For example, social media tools might be essential for marketing teams while being distracting for engineering teams.
Note: The application names are broken up by OS. For example, the application Front will be “Front.exe” for PCs and “con. front app. Front” for Macs.
Top Applications: Left Panel
Hover over a specific Application, and two new options will appear from a hidden menu:
- View Activity: Navigate to the Activity Log, filtered for that particular Application
- Copy Name: Copy the Application name to your device’s clipboard
Applications: Hidden Menu
When you select an application on the left, the right panel shows detailed information broken down into three tabs:
- Titles: A list of the top title bars for the selected application, along with duration and usage percentage.
Note: This tab is only available if an account has chosen Advanced Details or above in the Sensitive Data Visibility section of Settings > Account Configuration or purchased Screen Details.
- Users: Use a heatmap to analyze usage over the specified time range and view a visual breakdown of the top users for the selected application.
Note: This tab is only available if the date range filter is 30 days or less. You will need to shorten the time frame to view the Users tab.
- Usage: Track application usage patterns with a timeline graph over your selected time range.
Top Applications: Right Panel
In addition to the duration and percentage, the Titles tab will display two additional icons:
- The screenshot icon allows you to quickly search if there are screenshots available for the associated activity.
Note: Not all accounts have screenshots; review ActivTrak account requirements here.
- The bell icon lets you quickly create an alarm for the associated activity. For more details, see Creating Application Alarms in this article.
Screenshots & Alarms Icons
Hover over a specific Title, and two new options will appear from a hidden menu:
- View Activity: Navigate to the Activity Log
- Copy Title: Copy the Title name to your device’s clipboard
Titles: Hidden Menu
Customizing the report
Productivity classification
Applications are assigned productivity classification based on your organization's settings. To adjust how applications are classified:
- Navigate to Settings > Classifications
- Find the application you wish to reclassify (Tip: utilize the search bar in the top right corner)
- Change its status to Productive or Unproductive using the dropdown menu
For more information about setting up Classifications, we have these resources:
- Help Center Article: Guide to Activity Classification
- Webcast: Classification 101
Creating application alarms
You can set up alarms to be notified when certain applications are used. To create an alarm:
- Select an Application in the left panel
- From the Titles tab in the right panel, click on the bell icon next to the Title of interest
- Configure your alarm settings
- Click Create
Note: Only users with Admin or Configurator access can create new alarms.
For more information about setting up alarms, see this article in our Help Center: ActivTrak Alarms Guide.
Exporting data
Use our Export feature to seamlessly integrate ActivTrak data with additional metrics to uncover correlations between technology investments and key performance indicators, such as overall employee performance.
To export data from the Top Applications report:
- Set your desired filters for user, group, time range, and productivity classification
- Click the Export button in the upper right corner
- Select the data you are looking to extract: Applications Only, Applications and Titles or Applications and Users
- Choose to Download the data directly to your device or Save to Google
Practical applications
Tracking application usage patterns
The Users tab shows which team members use specific applications and when they use them throughout the day. This visibility lets you:
- Track usage patterns across departments to ensure consistent implementation
- Identify team members who aren't using critical applications consistently
- Monitor how quickly teams adopt newly deployed software
- Spot gaps in application usage that indicate potential training needs
Monitor application usage with alarms
Set up targeted notifications to stay informed when specific applications are used:
- Receive alerts when unauthorized software is detected on company devices
- Monitor usage of high-risk applications that may present security concerns
- Get notified when expensive licensed software is being underutilized
- Track adoption rates of newly implemented applications across teams
For example, an alarm can notify a manager when design team members use alternative design applications instead of the company's licensed Adobe Creative Suite, indicating a potential coaching opportunity or unauthorized software use.
Optimizing technology investments
The Top Applications report provides an introductory view into application usage that can help you identify:
- Which applications are being used most frequently
- How usage varies across teams and departments
- Potential opportunities for consolidating similar tools
- Applications where usage is lower than expected, indicating potential adoption issues
This report is a helpful starting point for organizations making strategic decisions about software investments. However, for more comprehensive license optimization and technology ROI analysis, ActivTrak offers specialized solutions:
- Technology Usage Dashboard (available in select plans) - Provides deeper insights into website and application usage patterns, adoption rates, and unused licenses with detailed visualization of technology utilization across teams.
- Technology License Optimization Report (Power BI template) - Delivers advanced analytics to maximize software investments through intelligent license management, helping organizations reduce technology costs and make data-driven decisions about software renewals.
Pro Tip: The Technology Usage Dashboard shows both application and website usage in one view, which is particularly valuable for tools that can be accessed via either method (like Zoom, ChatGPT, or Microsoft Teams) to get a complete picture of actual usage.