Enterprise Architecture (EA) has promised a thorough transformation of the business world by streamlining enterprise operations, aligning IT to business strategy and documenting the company blueprint to improve understanding, measurement and management of its operation.
Although EA has been around for some time, the value it promised to offer has not quite materialised - I hope you disagree! But what are the factors inhibiting adoption or its success?
I would discuss some of the deterring factors.
1. EA is frequently seen as an IT only architecture not addressing the interests of business stakeholders
There is nothing wrong with an IT architecture. The issue is that the expectations promised by the Enterprise name and advertisement are not fulfilled. This spawns a noteworthy scope issue. Most importantly it prevents the involvement, funding and support of business people and firm's management. The EA is not visible to the business side and what is more relevant it does not cover business aspects. Such an EA fails to raise interest or ultimately induce usage outside the IT and is often associated to an IT only framework as ITIL.
In terms of EA implementation the IT EA team - the program is initiated by IT - has little authority to drive business architecture issues, influence corporate strategy or recommend organisational changes. Usually the EA team has little control of the business process documentation effort for instance even if successfully initiated.
I have witnessed an EA development effort and a business process and best practices optimisation program, performed at the same time, in parallel and totally uncorrelated, by two different consultancies.
IT architecture is only a part of an EA architecture. To succeed an EA architecture needs address business concerns, to be sanctioned, supported and have visibility at the business and management board level. EA needs the wider scope to include and provide motivation to business teams and enable adoption and usage.
2. Technology is only seen as IT; for a wider adoption EA has to cover all technologies
No other kind of technology, mechanical for instance is considered. What about manufacturing technologies? 50 years ago there was no IT. Banks and factories still existed though. It is hardly an Enterprise wide Architecture a development which does not describe the manufacturing equipment for your products as cars, shoes etc.
The IT only view is restricting the sphere of interest to just a few types of IT intensive enterprises and, inside a company, to a few stakeholders. It is again a matter of scope, not only in design but in business users' involvement, support and usage.
EA approached as an IT only architecture, reduces the EA scope to IT and fails to involve business and other non-IT technology stakeholders.
Although EA has been around for some time, the value it promised to offer has not quite materialised - I hope you disagree! But what are the factors inhibiting adoption or its success?
I would discuss some of the deterring factors.
1. EA is frequently seen as an IT only architecture not addressing the interests of business stakeholders
There is nothing wrong with an IT architecture. The issue is that the expectations promised by the Enterprise name and advertisement are not fulfilled. This spawns a noteworthy scope issue. Most importantly it prevents the involvement, funding and support of business people and firm's management. The EA is not visible to the business side and what is more relevant it does not cover business aspects. Such an EA fails to raise interest or ultimately induce usage outside the IT and is often associated to an IT only framework as ITIL.
In terms of EA implementation the IT EA team - the program is initiated by IT - has little authority to drive business architecture issues, influence corporate strategy or recommend organisational changes. Usually the EA team has little control of the business process documentation effort for instance even if successfully initiated.
I have witnessed an EA development effort and a business process and best practices optimisation program, performed at the same time, in parallel and totally uncorrelated, by two different consultancies.
IT architecture is only a part of an EA architecture. To succeed an EA architecture needs address business concerns, to be sanctioned, supported and have visibility at the business and management board level. EA needs the wider scope to include and provide motivation to business teams and enable adoption and usage.
2. Technology is only seen as IT; for a wider adoption EA has to cover all technologies
No other kind of technology, mechanical for instance is considered. What about manufacturing technologies? 50 years ago there was no IT. Banks and factories still existed though. It is hardly an Enterprise wide Architecture a development which does not describe the manufacturing equipment for your products as cars, shoes etc.
The IT only view is restricting the sphere of interest to just a few types of IT intensive enterprises and, inside a company, to a few stakeholders. It is again a matter of scope, not only in design but in business users' involvement, support and usage.
EA approached as an IT only architecture, reduces the EA scope to IT and fails to involve business and other non-IT technology stakeholders.
Enterprise Architecture is really more than IT Architecture and Technology is more than IT.
So long
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