EA domains for building a core foundation
Stephen Spewak’s Enterprise Architecture Planning contributed greatly to the current popularity of dividing EA into four domains. While his approach was published in 1993, it is still in use today by most EA project teams.
Let’s look at the four domains of EA work.
Business architecture
This domain defines organizational structure while addressing who will be involved and what they will do within the company’s functional capabilities. Let’s look at some example questions that must be answered to represent this domain. In general, a business architecture includes business processes, business capabilities, services, operating models, and value streams. What are the business vision, strategy, and objectives? Who is responsible for driving toward and achieving the anticipated goals?
Application architecture
This domain considers the relationships between specific applications and the core business processes of the organization while asking the question, how have current business capabilities been implemented? The process of tailoring software solutions based on evolving needs is addressed in this phase. When the software an organization is using cannot fulfill customer needs, feature updates are crucial. Redesigning software is the final resort but is necessary in cases where it fails to adapt to modern advancements.
Data architecture
This domain involves structuring an organization’s data assets and management resources. An insight into business analytics lets businesses evolve along with customer needs. Data that’s collected from users is stored in the database so that it can be managed and maintained for future reference. A strategic architecture makes processing complex data much easier.
Technology architecture
Resources, including software and hardware, are required to implement the application services. Modern technology is essential to building a functional network. This includes devices, routers, software, and storage. Adapting to changes is the key to success, and these changes will come in the form of a dynamic marketplace and changing user behavior.
A common practice of combining data and application domains into a single information system component works well for many EA frameworks. Moreover, all of the data that’s collected from customers can take up quite a lot of space. Putting it in the cloud is the safest, most advanced way to keep things rolling seamlessly.
What role does the core foundation play in the business?
Every business has an inbuilt EA helping it achieve certain goals. In some organizations, it’s thoughtfully designed to support teams of highly skilled professionals, who get together and form strategic guidelines. Based on these guidelines, the EA is implemented. With other organizations, the EA may simply be an underlying process for designing, improving, and maintaining an IT network that goes on without proper infrastructure.
Applying innovative technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and cognitive computing seems tempting. But you can never underestimate the potential and power of rock-solid EA since it can transform an organization. In each framework, EA represents a comprehensive methodology for an organization to be visualized, described, and adopted. It is one of the ways to associate your infrastructure with a slew of proven benefits.
Here are the benefits of establishing a core EA foundation:
- Comprehensive strategy
EA can safely be considered a bridge between the business values and IT infrastructure of an organization. Providing teams with the direction for IT processing and a technical roadmap, EA is an essential strategic tool that offers the comprehensive insights that are required for effective communication across the board. EA provides the blueprint for delivering concrete products, services, processes, and other structural elements.
- Reduced complexity
The purpose of modern advancements, tools, and IT solutions is to make processes simpler. EA can be a game-changer when an organization pairs a proactive, results-oriented approach with a streamlined workflow. Businesses with data-driven core values that are striving for strategic changes are most likely to benefit from this optimal setup.
- Minimized costs
Budget allocation and accountability are the driving forces behind smoothly executed business operations. When costs are poorly managed, an EA team’s efforts can go awry in the blink of an eye, and the problems they see will just be the tip of the iceberg since worse outcomes are likely to follow. A thoughtful EA strategy can be the impetus for more efficient resource allocation, which will lead to significant savings. These benefits go beyond resource investments that have an impact on stability, profits, and the time to market. A streamlined finance structure reduces friction for EA teams and greatly increases the likelihood of achieving the desired outcomes.
- Standardization and flexibility
Every stakeholder across the technical, sales, marketing, research, and development teams must be aligned on the strategy for EA values to achieve maximum productivity. Done well, an EA initiative will ensure this. In addition to creating multiple business units that can be managed hassle-free, EA can offer better software support and guidance than ever before.
By harnessing the power of EA, an organization can strengthen and streamline its working environment by integrating services and applications.
- Robust security
EA can be the guiding force behind data protection and cybersecurity processes in general. With constantly rising security concerns across digital networks, an effective EA blueprint is crucial to mounting a robust defense against the burgeoning risks of cybersecurity threats. This doesn’t even include the additional security risks that stem from internal IT missteps, such as shadow IT and redundant applications. EA, in that area, holds the key to protection and ensuring better use of your digital assets.
- Analytical adaptability
EA empowers teams with quick reaction capabilities, adaptability to embrace modern advancements, and greater agility to adapt to sudden shifts in the industry. Nothing beats the ability to assess a situation and do away with outdated and potentially harmful practices. An organization can use these data-driven insights to improve the business model and its strategies. The perks that follow include a noticeable decrease in business risks.
These benefits of establishing a core foundation speak volumes about the usability of an EA. For an organization juggling innovation, growth, and strategy, EA can act like the glue that holds the company’s vision and operations together. That is why consultants who work with organizations on their EA development often encourage them to abandon legacy systems and establish EA as an ongoing project – success hinges on effective planning and implementation over time.
One such consulting firm, NetSol Technologies, has worked with companies to accelerate the reinvention of their applications and data for a cloud-native world. With the benefit of having experience with hundreds of engagements on EA projects, the team has found that the reality of effective IT infrastructure is being able to elegantly orchestrate interconnected elements within a multi-level organization. Complexities are often associated with unpleasant events. Simplicity and adaptability are the names of the game.