Issue 3-4

Enterprise architecture is one of those disciplines where there can be many paths to success. Top-down, bottom-up, project-driven, and grass-roots approaches can each yield modest progress. Long-term success, though, in my experience, results from applying multiple approaches, each complementing the others. While knowledge of these approaches and how to apply them is critical, the trait that above all distinguishes the winners from the others is leadership.

Last spring, the editors of Architecture & Governance Magazine undertook our annual study of best practices in enterprise architecture and business transformation. In our third year of conducting this survey, we were anxious to see if EA adoption trends in years past were translating into business success today.

Bill Branch, Vice President of Enterprise Architecture, Sprint Nextel

Bill Branch knew what was coming. As a seasoned corporate executive, he was well aware that mergers between global corporations are frequently predicated on potential cost savings.

Doug Rousso, Vice President of IT Architecture and Planning, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Knowing the finer details of every piece of technology, every process in an organization, and the dependencies these have on one another is no easy task for any business. But when your business is one of the world’s largest producers of film and entertainment, this is a job for a superhero.

Enterprise architecture is uniquely positioned to be a significant driver of an enterprise’s outsourcing decisions. However, two things are required: a service-oriented focus for the EA team and an understanding of the sourcing decision life cycle.

One of the primary reasons that enterprise architecture (EA) has soared in popularity in recent years is because of the realization that it is a business affair, as much as it is a technical concept. EA offers a blueprint for corporate IT strategies and can help align enterprise-wide IT initiatives with the business.
 

Governance is broadly defined as the processes and systems by which an enterprise operates. How are decisions made? What are the roles and responsibilities? How does an enterprise create the logical relationship between process and IT, the architecture of the enterprise?

ARCHITECTURE GOVERNANCE

Richard (Dick) Burk recently announced his retirement from the federal government after three years as chief architect at the Office of Management and Budget and thirty-five years of dedicated service to the federal government. The development and advancement of the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) that began under Bob Haycock’s leadership, accelerated under Dick’s guidance. Today, the FEA is not just used by the federal government but by six nations and three states. The FEA has become a world class standard for EA.