For any enterprise, a good effective foundation for execution is an important aspect of a successful EA initiative. The cost of ineffective foundation for execution can not only spread incompatibility and multiply effort, but also prove to be an obstacle for business agility and growth initiatives. Ineffective foundation for execution can be observed in multiple cases ranging from running the daily business to new growth initiatives, and many cases of business silos, IT bottlenecks and more.
For example, getting different answers or metric results from different groups within the same enterprise for the same questions implies silos, duplicate efforts, mistrust, confusion and even conflict of interest. It is absolutely a disaster for the top executive management not to trust numbers and facts presented by business and IT, and this will lead to annoyance and blame war between the two. Another case is the hindrance of business agility when companies undergo growth initiatives to develop new products or as a result of mergers/acquisitions. Hindrance in this case results from the rigid structure of the different LOBs and IT silos not being able to contribute to agility and adapt to changes in the market in respond to evolving trends. Also, anytime IT is considered as a nuisance rather an asset or strictly a cost center, the general result is multiple bottlenecks blamed on IT consistently through times of change or strategic projects implementation. Other obvious indicators of ineffective foundation for execution are cases when data is duplicated in different systems, same processes repeated in different LOBs, and information needed for running the business across the enterprise is not readily available.
All of these bear a hefty cost to enterprises and endanger the future survival and growth of the business. In addition, effective foundation is especially important with the current need for each enterprise to digitize capabilities and internal processes, and to capitalize on the value of data leading to IT becoming a strategic asset in itself and not just a cost center.
References:
Ross, J. W., Weill, P., & Robertson, D. (2006). Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.
Ziad,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it sucks when the organization thinks of an entity like the IT organization as a mere source of costs for the enterprise. In this day and age of enabling technology, we almost want to cry out "Ingrates!" -- Even if we do admit that IT is just a tool for business, it is nevertheless a very critical tool.
I really think that this is where EA can improve the perception, and in so doing improve the perception of value for EA itself, since EA and IT -- as we increasingly realize, are not only close cousins, but more of blood brothers.
And there you have it; IT without an EA component (even if the function is not called EA) will forever remain a cost center. But IT with EA can truly become the valuable strategic asset that you mention, and with this I believe, you have uncovered a key essential role of EA.
Thanks for all your posts and insights this semester. All the best.
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Thanks for the comments!
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