Is it Enterprise Architecture or IT Architecture?

In many of the online EA forums I follow, too numerous to mention all by name, I am seeing an increasing amount of participants questioning whether topics are related to EA or not.   Generally these topics are about lower-level, technology decisions that while within the purview of the overall EA, are really infrastructure/operations level decisions.  Similarly,  many EA events (conferences, webinars, podcasts) have participants who are increasingly asking “Is this still really what Enterprise Architecture is all about?”

This all revolves around a theme that I have been writing and talking about lately – the evolution of EA to be more than an IT-centric discipline.  Now on the surface, this may seem like an academic discussion.  Pragmatically, EA is still an IT organization’s responsibility within the vast majority of organizations worldwide.  While there is no dispute that EA started out as an IT-centric approach, most definitions describe EA to be more of a business-strategy driven approach.  Also, with the inclusion of Business Architecture as one of the domains of EA, practitioners are beginning to need to enter into the forbidden zone — the board room.

If EA is really going to become a method for “architecting the enterprise” rather than using business strategy as a driver for application, infrastructure and data future states, what is needed?   I think one precursor is acknowledged success of the EA contribution within IT.  This requires not only the full support of the CIO, but also the devlopment and collection of metics to support the claims of success of EA.  Secondly, there needs to be a business transformation effort to which the EA method is applied.  I have seen examples of EA being practiced with the business in full partnership (although still primarily applied to decisions within the realm of IT) when there is a major business transformation underway – such as major mergers/acquisitions, changing the business model, or significant modernization.  If an EA team can demonstrate visually and financially that their approach can help senior executives think through not only what their business strategies should be, but also the steps to take to execute those strategies, then EA can begin to fulfill its long-held promise as a business transformation enabler.

The question that I will leave you all with is this:  Can EA be successfully evolved to become a tool of business strategic planners, senior executives and boards of directors if we continue to call it Enterprise Architecture?

This may sound like a trite question, but for most of us that have been practicing Enterprise Architecture for many years, we realize that semantics count.  I believe that in most organizations, the connotations associated with EA are so strongly IT-centric, that it will hinder the ability to transfer the method within the business community. 

What else could we call it?  More on that later.

New EA Book, “Coherency Management”, is Now Available

“Coherency Management – Architecting the Enterprise for Alignment, Agility and Assurance” is a new EA book from co-editors Gary Doucet, John Goetz, Palla Saha and Scott Bernard.    It includes a chapter, contributed by Larry DeBoever, George Paras and Tim Westbrock at EAdirections, entitled “A Pragmatic Approach to Enlisting the Support of CEOs for Enterprise Architecture”.  This chapter covers everything from assessing a leadership team’s attitides and perspectives, to executive messaging, alignment approaches. and specific recommendations on how to engage the CEO and other executive leaders.

With submissions from over 30 authors and co-authors, the book reinforces the idea that EA is being practiced in an ever-increasing variety of circumstances – from the tactical to the strategic, from the technical to the political, and with governance that ranges from sell to tell.  One key message is that  EA must be viewed as an Enterprise Design and Management approach, adopted to building better enterprises, rather than a IT Design and Management approach limited to building better systems.

It is available directly from the publisher, AuthorHouse, or from your favorite bookseller.

 

A new EA book containing a contribution by EAdirections

‘Deflation’ and Managed Services

A major theme of our discussions with IT Leadership and EA teams is to understand the ongoing changes in, and potential impact of, the continuing price/performance improvements in processing, networks, storage and services.  (See our materials on ‘Tech-tonics’ – the long-term implications of the changes in technology economics). 

I was reminded of the importance of monitoring these trends when working with a client this week.  The client is a small/mid-sized IT shop with approximately 70 staff (including contractors).  We have been encouraging this client for some time to look at selective outsourcing to improve service as well as lower cost. 

I reviewed with the client this week a proposal to manage and monitor their approximately 100 Windows servers.  The client was planning to hire two additional staff to meet the demands of applying updates and patches, and to extend support coverage into evenings. 

I like to think I am ‘on top’ of everything but I was positively surprised by the proposal they received from a mid-sized, good quality services provider using on-shore resources whose business remains strong.  

The proposal includes 7x24x365 support at a cost of just around $100.00 USD per physical server per month.  Said differently, the cost of the managed service is significantly less than the cost of the two hires (e.g. salaries, benefits, office space, PCs, travel) and the client’s organization receives significantly extended service coverage. 

This experience just reinforces our view at EAdirections that focused outsourcing can provide significant benefits in both cost and service.

Podcast available for “Architecture’s Scope Extends Beyond the Enterprise”

As I mentioned in my last post, I was part of a panel discussion at last month’s TOGAF event in Toronto. The podcast is now available at Interarbor Solutions, while the transcript can be found at BriefingsDirect. I would like to thank Dana Gardner of Interarbor Solutions for moderating and producing the discussion panel and podcast. And thanks as well to my fellow panel members, John Gotze and Sandy Kemsley.