“The organizing logic for business process and IT capabilities reflecting the integration and standardization requirements of the firm’s operating model.”
The time of the classic Enterprise Architecture (EA) is over. In the past, the initiatives cost too much and the EA organisations showed too little added value. The discipline of a classical enterprise architect was absorbed into a modelling role, i.e. a person who tries desperately to represent reality in his architecture models. However, too often reality was faster than the model. The enterprise architecture has too often hidden in the "penthouse" behind its specifications and documentation that did not have much to do with reality. Gregor Hohpe writes "Control is an illusion" but that is exactly what the enterprise architectures have always tried to pretend, that they have control and know what happens when, where and why in the company.
Agile practices, originally from software development, are making their way into IT organisations and moving further into the business domain. Modern architecture patterns such as microservices and event-driven architectures have literally exploded a company's managed assets. Today, a modern enterprise architecture is needed that meets these challenges, leaves the "penthouse" and keeps up with current trends. The focus here is on an agile mindset, leadership, it must focus on generating reliable and critical business data. At the same time, the most important requirements such as security, data protection, compliance, etc. must be taken into account. The enterprise architecture must be equipped with the values of respect, trust and appreciation so that it can achieve its goals. The "penthouse" must be left every day and the lift must be taken to the lowest floor of the building. This is the only way to get the real problems, worries and concerns of all involved. The architecture is a fighter for strategic decisions,leadership & impact. To be able to do this, it must have a deep understanding of the business but also of IT. An enterprise architect deals with the latest trends and topics on a daily basis, examines their opportunities and threats for the company and provides answers on how they can be successfully implemented in the company.
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