ALM versus SDLC

I often find people confusing these two terms, Application life cycle management and software development life cycle, they are similar as they sound but differ as conceptually.


SDLC == Software Development Life Cycle;  this includes everything to do with DEVELOPING a software application, including requirements, architecture, coding, testing, configuration management project management.

ALM == Application Life Cycle Management;  as the name suggests includes everything that is part of the Application Lifecycle.  When does the life of an apps start?  No, not in development, it starts somewhere in the business as an idea, a need, a challenge, a risk.  When does the life of an application end?  No, not at the end of development, but when the application is no longer used by the business - potentially many years after the initial development.

I find a visual representation of ALM and SDLC may be this is helpful to understand both terms.