A computer-implemented method, system, and program product for optimizing a distributed (software) application are provided. Specifically, a configuration of a target computing environment, in which the distributed application is deployed, is discovered upon deployment of the distributed application. Thereafter, based on a set of rules and the discovered configuration, one or more optimization techniques are applied to optimize the distributed application. In a typical embodiment, the set of rules can be embedded in the distributed application, or they can be accessed from an external source such as a repository. Regardless, the optimization techniques applied can include at least one of the following: (1) identification and replacement of an underperforming component of the distributed application with a new component; (2) generation of interface layers (to allow selection of optimal bindings) between distributed objects of the distributed application; and/or (3) execution of code transformation of the distributed application using program analysis techniques.