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Similar, to a constructed building that relies on a foundation to withstand external pressures and maintain stability an enterprise also needs a solid foundation. This foundation is called enterprise architecture, which's a plan that outlines, standardizes and documents the organizational structure. It identifies the ways to achieve business goals and serves as the basis for all processes, methods and strategies that ensure smooth operations within the enterprise. Business leaders often break down enterprise architecture into four areas to simplify complexity. This article aims to clarify how these areas are interconnected in order to achieve business objectives with the support of technology.
Within the realm of Business Architecture enterprise architects focus on designing and overseeing strategies and processes that govern how an organization operates and generates revenue. For instance if an e commerce company aims to increase its market share by 20% within two years an enterprise architect would begin by analyzing the factors contributing to its market share. This analysis might reveal that offering shipping across their website could be a game changer. As a result the architect would develop a plan for implementing this feature in a cost manner, over the two years.
In the field of Information/Data Architecture architects have a focus, on organizing and documenting an organizations data assets both in terms of its structure and physical components. They also play a role in determining the resources for effective data management and governance. For instance if a company plans to expand but lacks data management capabilities an architect would develop a plan to ensure compliance with data regulations in the new country and establish efficient data processes.
Within these domains there are considerations that enterprise architects evaluate. One important aspect is assessing the capabilities of the organization, such as the range of products or services it offers and its potential future outputs. They also play a role in structuring the organization by defining roles within each department to align with business objectives. Additionally data classification and governance are areas where architects classify types of data and update existing policies for managing that data.
The Application Architecture domain focuses on deploying applications across departments within an organization. Enterprise architects analyze how these applications serve business functions and determine how they should be interconnected. For example when employees consider integrating an application into their operations architects evaluate its usefulness for business operations. How well it integrates with existing tools. Another important aspect is policy enforcement where architects establish guidelines to prevent applications, from being used throughout the organization.
In the domain of Technology Architecture we concentrate on the infrastructure that supports the objectives and implementation of business, information and application processes. This encompasses hardware, software and network resources. For example if a company intends to expand into an industry the architects role involves designing the necessary infrastructure by specifying appropriate hardware and software components. Another important aspect is minimizing diversity by reducing the number of infrastructures used. This not helps in cost reduction. Also enhances system compatibility.
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