There is no doubt that digital transformation is a corporate trend since it is not optional today. However, the objective is to minimize the possibility of falling into the error of assuming that, because it is a trend or a necessity, it will work in an ideal way in our company. Under the understanding that digital transformation is a means to capture value and is not an end per se. In this context, knowing the concept of Enterprise Architecture is essential to take the right steps in business transformation processes.
Enterprise Architecture defines the relationships between the main resources of a companyThe organization's organizational culture, such as: processes, people, culture, products, services, applications, technology, documents, among others. It is the scheme that provides a common understanding of the organization. and is used to connect the with tactical and operational requirements.
Enterprise Architecture Essentials
- Strategy
- Resource capacityThe business functions of the organization and the actors that perform them.
- Processes: ptrategic, business and support processes (value chain)
- The organization and its knowledge: Know-how
- Culture and relationships: between roles, business units, areas; their responsibilities, empowerment and corporate attitude.
When analyzing which are the main benefits of the Enterprise Architecture, TOGAF tells us:
- Cost optimization.
- Risk Mitigation.
- Identification of Opportunities / Competitive Advantages.
- Flexibility and Adaptability .
These benefits are ideal in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment.
TOGAF has a definition of what an architecture is, in short, it is "a formal description of a system, or a detailed plan of the system at the component level that guides its implementation", or "the structure of components, their interrelationships, and the principles and guidelines that govern their design and evolution over time".
TOGAF is based on four pillars
- Business Architecture: defines the business strategy, corporate governance, structure and key processes of the organization. Simplicity without losing control is the primary challenge, without losing focus on change management when applicable.
- Application ArchitectureThe following section provides a context for each of the systems or applications that need to be implemented -always connected to the business-, the interactions between them and how they form a cohesive ecosystem.
- Data ArchitectureData management: describes the structure of the organization's physical and logical data, as well as the resources for managing this data, its governance, integrity, reliability and exploitation.
- Technological ArchitectureThe "Application Ecosystem": which describes the hardware, software and network structure required to support and efficiently infrastructure the application ecosystem, with a special focus on security.
The business transformation leveraged on digital solutions is an incremental process.In this sense, agile validations should be encouraged. Before undertaking an automation align and understand the above points is essential and on this premise proceed to seek early victories leveraged on technology. Addressing digital projects without an Enterprise Architecture analysis can maximize the likelihood of automating chaos and invest resources inefficiently.
Each company has its own reality and the path that best suits you according to your characteristics should be analyzed.The company's business strategy, capabilities, challenges, threats and continuous opportunities for value capture.
