The Importance of Enterprise Architecture

David Longworth does a great job of discussing the importance of Enterprise Architecture in this latest article in CIO. The major theme is summed up by this quote,

“For EA to move beyond its -early-adopter phase, more architects looking at the bigger picture and less navel gazing and protectionism is the order of the day -- and that will be led by the CIO”

Take a couple of minutes to go over the article. Do you agree that more architects are looking at the bigger picture?

More Findings from the Infosys Survey

Infosys recently completed their 3rd annual survey on Enterprise Architecture which you can view here. Sohel Aziz brings up some interesting findings in this post on the Infosys blog when he mentions:

One of the key findings is that participants of the survey saw Enterprise Architecture as a capability that was core to their business and inherently part of their organization's crown jewels. However, given the daunting set of activities that most Enterprise Architecture functions have to execute today, the opportunity to work with ESPs and enlist them to execute some of these activities is real. In other words, some activities (the more tactical ones), can be outsourced to a strategic vendor partner.

Read the full post here.

No SmallTalk in Enterprise Architecture

James McGovern’s has an interesting post on Enterprise Architecture this morning. He explains how even though Wall Street has failed the consumer, the blame should be placed on the consumer themselves because they didn’t take the time to know better.

He applies this same methodology in Enterprise Architecture. Even though sales people are pitching SmallTalk in the enterprise, James claims that the marketplace knows better. I guess time will only tell.

What is the role of a Enterprise Architect in a programme?

This post on CIO Knowledge Base explains how an enterprise architect is not needed if enterprise architecture is present and a manager is simply trying to ensure that a new project will fit with the existing architecture. On the other hand, if the project involves changes a scope of the enterprise architecture, then managers will have to consult with the enterprise architect. Program managers have the ability to monitor implementation of enterprise architecture as long as no changes needed to be made to the infrastructure itself. How does your company define the role of an enterprise architect in a progamme?

Alignment of IT Strategy and Business Strategy Doomed to Fail?

Mark Blowers mentions in his latest post at the Report Buyer blog that the latest report shows that attempts to align IT strategy with am abstract business strategy are doomed for failure. Mark believes that to successfully adopt enterprise architecture across the board, the whole organization, both technology and business areas, must work together to ensure that the architecture stays in line with the strategic business objectives of the organization and reflects the IT services that are available at the current moment and the future.

Do you agree with Mark’s ideals on EA?

Infosys Report: Findings from the Enterprise Architecture Survey 2008

We recently posted the findings from a recent report from Infosys that details the results of their annual EA survey. As a refresher, here are some trends we learned from those findings:

• EA is enabling business transformation
  
• EA practices continue to mature with increasing use of metrics and processes
  
• Increased outsourcing of EA functions are a strong possibility in the future
  

As an update to this, here’s the pdf of the actual report put out by Infosys. Enjoy!

Are Enterprises Training Developers to Write Secure Code?

James McGovern discusses in his latest post on Enterprise Architecture that companies are missing out on important opportunities of securing the enterprise by simply encouraging staff members to attend local OWASP chapter meetings.

Security will always be a factor in the enterprise. The training of security awareness in employees will only further their understanding about the importance of information security. It also makes architects more receptive to certain vulnerabilities that exists in current code.

Is your enterprise ensuring that developers write secure code?

Layers of Enterprise Architecture

David Linthicum discusses in this post on InfoWorld that well-designed enterprise architecture will provide a stable platform for computing. He goes to on mention how working up from ring 0-2 you will come across many different layers, and how they need to be managed very carefully to ensure that the enterprise will not lock up. So indeed, process architecture and enterprise architecture has a lot in common. Make sure to read entire article here.

Symantec Integrates Its Products with Enterprise Applications

Information Week reports that Symantec will soon adopt open architecture so that its products can be added as services to enterprise applications. Some of the products include antivirus and anti-intrusion applications.

Here’s what Christine Ewing, the director of product marketing, has to say about what Symantec is calling Open Collaborative Architecture:

"It's not a product. It's more of a strategic direction that Symantec is taking."

Symantec is relying on open web service standards in order to achieve integration with its products and enterprise third-party applications.

Outsourcing Enterprise Architecture

James McGovern brings up an interesting concept in his latest post on Enterprise Architecture. There’s an outsourcing trend that not many companies have caught on to yet. Many times when developers are outsourced to India, the architectects jump into American forums and ask them to help them write their codes.

Open source communities are made in order to support people and not help them write their codes for them. Has anyone else caught onto this trend? Are corporations really getting a deal when outsourcing personnel?

MEGA Releases System Blueprint

According to this latest post on GCN, Mega is introducing MEGA System Blueprint, which is a software tool that links application design with business requirements for modern IT systems.

With this software tool users can define any specification, ranging from requirements analysis, system design, and SOA projects. The tool will allow application design metadata to be stored close to information on IT architecture and business processes. MEGA System Blueprint is priced at $4,000. It will be interesting to see if we will see huge improvements in EA with the release of this application in the enterprise.

Holistic Thinking and IT Professionals

In his latest post at Enterprise Architecture, James McGovern brings up this question “When was the last time you ran across a holistic IT security professional?” He mentions that holistic thinking, which requires technical leadership, is something that is missing from most IT professionals in the enterprise.

According to James, ‘technical’ enterprise architects that are familiar with coding must be brought into the security building process in the beginning stages and not later. Do you agree with this?

Information Architecture

Anton Venter takes a look at what the term Information Architecture actually contains in his latest post at the IT Knowledge Exchange. There are many models that relate to information such as Data Models, Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Content Management, Data Warehousing, Master Data Management, and so it can be a challenge to really put things in perspective.

Anton also mentions that organizations often bundle all of these models simply as “Enterprise Information Management”. Does it really make sense to define and scope them into separate workstreams?

In your own terms, what does information architecture contain?

2008 Survey Findings: Outsourcing of Enterprise Architecture functions

The findings of an annual Infosys survey taken on Enterprise Architecture were recently posted here. The survey was filled out by 207 people ranging from different cross-section industries. Here are some trends the survey indicated according to a preliminary analysis:

• Enterprise Architecture is enabling business transformation [Does this surprise me?]
• EA practices continue to mature with increasing use of metrics and processes [Again no surprises on this front]
• Outsourcing of activities focused at Enterprise Architecture is an opportunity that most EA teams have not seriously considered [Now, this is interesting]
  

Mohan Babu K seems to be surprised by the fact that outsourcing of activities focused on EA is a huge opportunity. Could this prove to be a driving factor in 2009? What are your thoughts?

Putting the "E" in TOGAF: An EAdirections Webinar”

For those of you who missed the chance to view the EAdirections webinar “Putting the "E" in TOGAF: An EAdirections Webinar” last Thursday here’s your chance to view it at your own leisure. Some of the ideas discussed during this one hour session were enterprise-wide requirements that users of TOGAF struggle with and adjustments in Enterprise Architecture to changing markets and opportunities. Also, don’t miss your chance to meet the presenters Larry DeBoever, George Paras, and Tim Westbrock at the Enterprise Architectures Conference in Las Vegas November 10-13, 2008.

View the archived webinar by clicking on the following link:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/924415223

Case Study on EA Frameworks

I came across this great case study on CIOIndex.com that discusses the selection of enterprise architecture framework and how to implement processes. You have to be a member on CIOIndex in order to view the case study, so make sure to take the time and register for the site if you haven’t already. I’m sure you’ll find the insights discussed in the case study valuable.

Appian and Mega Partner to Bring Together BPM Tools and Enterprise Architecture Software

eBizQ reports today that Appian, a provider of BPM techonology, and Mega, a provider of EA technology, have entered in agreement to join the BPA and EA capabilities of the MEGA Modeling Suite with the Appian Enterprise BPM Suite and the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-delivered Appian Anywhere platforms.

This new partnership is aimed to improving enterprise success in process innovation and building on existing deployments of software with joint customers such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, AXA Investment Managers, General Dynamics, and the Department of Homeland Security. Users will be able to perform archectiture and process design on the Mega Suite and then export processes directly to the Appian BPM platform to map out direct management of operations.

Lucio de Risi, president and CEO of MEGA mentions:

"The combination of MEGA's powerful BPA, simulation, and optimization functionality with Appian's robust and scalable BPM platform will unite business users and analysts with enterprise, technical, and information architects in the common goal of creating adaptive, process-driven organizations."

Information Architecture within the Enterprise Architecture Context

Browsing the blogosphere I came across this post from Anton Ventor in IT Knowledge Exchange. Anton displays a diagram of how Gartner views Information Architecture within the context of Enterprise Architecture. The shaded region in the 2^nd column represents Information Architecture. He notes that the term ‘business’ is featured in the diagram, especially under the context of application architecture. Do you agree with the diagram?

IT Professionals Might be Looking Elsewhere for Employment

James McGovern’s latest post on Enterprise Architecture discusses how many enterprise architects are favoring contract/consultant work over permanent work because of the better paying opportunities and offers.

Enterprise architecture in general might suffer is some of the more qualified IT professionals are leaving organizations for contract work. Another point that James brings up is that perhaps HR isn’t allowing for much flexibility on salary compensation for enterprise architects. Is your company currently using consultants for its enterprise architecture initiatives?

Return on Investment or Return on Information?

Anton Venter’s latest post on the IT Knowledge Exchange argues that the real ROI of EA comes from information and its use. Anton makes another great point that documentation of architecture makes finding information easier and readily available. It also becomes easier to provide outsourcers info on the architecture should they need it to support an organization’s applications. What do you think is the real ROI of enterprise architecture?