Why Enterprise Architecture Activities are More Important Than Ever

Today´s content forms the sixth and last of six parts of the series called “Who is still interested in Enterprise Architecture?”. In this series, I provide my view on the footprint of today´s Enterprise Architecture, the potential death of the role of an Enterprise Architect, the big players, such as TOGAF from The Open Group, AWS, or Azure, as well as the role of EA tool providers and other related certificates and developments on the market.

In today´s part six, we draw conclusions from the previous parts and forecast what that implies for the future.

Regardless of whether you are reading this article or whether you are listening to the podcast version, make sure to also check out the first five parts of this series!

Who is still interested in Enterprise Architecture? – Part 6 of 6

1. Enterprise Architecture Activities are Taken on by Different Roles

EA is not always called EA anymore, but the practice remains highly relevant. Most of today’s industry and thought leaders providing best practices for modern EA do not call themselves Enterprise Architects anymore. This is why the practice is perceived less relevant today.

However, there are new titles and roles that cover Enterprise Architecture aspects, which did not use to be part of traditional Enterprise Architecture models. In addition, Enterprise Architecture activities are often covered by IT architects, which have some IT and some Enterprise responsibilities at the same time. The result is that Enterprise Architecture and IT Architecture become closer aligned and sometimes addressed by one and the same role.

2. New Enterprise Architecture Management Frameworks

Because of an increased relevance and urgency for frameworks and approaches, new players entered the area of Enterprise Architecture.

It seems that the structures of the traditional, renowned Enterprise Architecture organizations are too slow to react to the disruption triggered by the Digital Transformation.

In consequence, providers of new tools and technologies, especially from the cloud area, develop their own frameworks and approaches to address the multiple new challenges of their organizations.

3. Enterprise Architecture Frameworks are Necessary to Drive a Successful Digital Transformation

Digital developments still trigger regular disruptions and a strong growth (e.g., new cloud service providers and supporting technologies).

Consequently, there are many newly emerging market players with new and diverse solutions, resulting in a scattered landscape of Enterprise Architecture best practices.

Hence, EA is targeted throughout different practices and departments and by different players, such as tool providers, large cloud providers, agile frameworks, organizations, and communities.

The Future of Enterprise Architecture

While in many areas, diverse solutions and competition is beneficial, this is not necessarily the case for Enterprise Architecture – which aims at providing standards and comparability. In addition, the diverse market solutions might make the work of IT and Enterprise Architects more challenging in the future as they need to keep an overview and align altogether.

As a result, the diverse landscape, which developed in recent years, might consolidate and harmonize under a new (or even the old) umbrella term covering key activities and objectives of Enterprise Architecture.

This is the end of the series “Who is still interested in Enterprise Architecture”. If you liked it or it was helpful for you, please like, share, and let me know your feedback in the comments section below!