Articles

Our theme this issue is “Driving Results Through EA.” Depending on the reader, that phrase may lead to one of two interpretations. The most common comes from pragmatists, members/leaders of EA functions that are primarily involved in supporting project delivery, and others who have struggled to make EA meaningful to their leadership.

Much has been said about the importance of business alignment. I daresay no one would argue much against it. It’s like motherhood and apple pie. But for all the hand-waving, real questions remain. What are you aligning? How do you align?

This is Part 2 of an interview with Mike J. Walker, who last summer became director of enterprise architecture at Dell, leaving a successful career behind at Microsoft for a move to the Austin technology company. Walker has few peers when it comes to being a leader, innovator, and expert in the technology industry, which is why we selected him for an interview.

Granted, legacy transformation or legacy modernization is not new. Usually the first association people have when hearing the word legacy transformation is the process of replacing old technology with newer IT systems and applications. Upgrading a company’s IT systems has been an “evergreen” topic for IT departments.

One of the biggest challenges we face when building capability models is getting teams to move from functional thinking—the things we do—to capability thinking—the ability we have to do things. Organizations generally create functional teams around capabilities, making it difficult to distinguish the two.

Business Architecture is no longer just an emerging discipline or an “interesting concept.” While far from being mature, it is increasingly being leveraged by enterprises to provide tangible value.