A Darwinist Challenge for EA?

A Darwinist Challenge for EA?

Disruption is omnipresent in recent modern life, whether it’s created by products or services unexpectedly entering a marketplace, new enabling technologies, or other external factors. Change is the only constant - the rate of this change is accelerating rapidly and we are seeing a Darwinist challenge thrown out to Organisations. 

In a similar vein Enterprise Architecture (EA), the command and control or Ivory tower variants at least, have seen massive challenges in the form of Data Driven Approaches; Digital Transformation; M&A Business activity; Agile Methodologies; Shadow IT; lack of business engagement; Cybersecurity; and GDPR  - not to mention the game changer that is Cloud. 

So, what can we learn from this? 

Is there any remaining value in paying heed to EA? 

We would say yes - though we need to evolve our levels of understanding and EA-Empathy. This is doubly difficult as there are a few interpretations as to what a practitioner of EA both is and does. If you were asked what a plumber or electrician does, what skills they have, and how they could help you, the conversation would, invariably, be both short and well understood. Now try the same for an Enterprise Architect - have a look at a selection of job listings and how the desired skills go from strategy and road mapping; to network/infrastructure design; via some java and SQL. 

EA has seen limited success across the board. It is seen as resource intensive in some organisations, of limited value by a few; or even a blocker by others. In some it’s locked away in an Ivory tower and not fully engaged with the organisation. In others it’s looked upon as an opposing or occupying force, seen as a threat to be resisted. Some small to medium organisations also see EA as not being for them due to the perceived effort involved vs the derived benefit i.e. cost savings on rework avoidance. 

So far, not so good. 

Has EA been disrupted itself by the disruption, or blunted itself on the metaphorical hidden stones in the field it ploughs? Can you truly disrupt something that’s not universally understood and not seen to be delivering on its early promise? Is it the player or the game that we have taken a dislike to here? 

We believe that we need to change how the game is played so the players have a chance of winning. We suggest a new approach that we will cover in more detail in a later blog.  Part of this is that the belief that the value proposition for EA changed while disruption remade the landscape around it. 

EA 2.0 ?

We will propose an EA 2.0 methodology over upcoming blogs, in which we will move towards ensuring a universal business understanding.... on bringing EA to life instead of just words on a page... in showing tangible and measurable business benefits.  

EA really is for all - in fact it only truly works if everyone involved “gets it” – and when executed correctly, the proper use of EA can be a game changer in a world where the rules of the game are changing in real-time as we are playing it. 

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Mark Stenning is Techolony's interim Head of Enterprise Architecture with a focus on 

simplifying the complexities of EA and bringing value to our clients IT estates.


If you'd like to speak to Mark or discuss how Techolony's EA services can drive your costs down and optimise your IT, then please phone Mark on 0161 209 3922

or register for a callback now. 

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