Enterprise Architecture

Innovate EDU can assist your organisation to save significant costs, reduce risk while ensuring your IT applications and infrastructure are “future-proofed.”

There are four architecture domains we cover within enterprise architecture, these include:

Four (4) Architecture Domains:

  • The Business Architecture defines the business strategy, governance, organization, and key business processes.
  • The Data Architecture describes the structure of an organization’s logical and physical data assets and data management resources.
  • The Application Architecture provides a blueprint for the individual application systems to be deployed, their interactions, and their relationships to the core business processes of the organization.
  • The Technology Architecture describes the logical software and hardware capabilities that are required to support the deployment of business, data, and application services. This includes IT infrastructure, middleware, networks, communications, processing, standards, etc.

Benefits:

  • A more efficient IT operation Better defined structure and modularity in the IT infrastructure lead to a much more efficient overall IT operation
  • Better return on existing investment, reduced risk for future investment

The structure of existing and planned systems is clearly defined, leading to:

  • Reduced complexity in IT infrastructure
  • Maximum return on investment in existing IT infrastructure
  • The flexibility to make, buy, or out-source IT solutions
  • Reduced risk overall in new investment, and the costs of IT ownership

Flexibility for business growth and restructuring

  • It is much easier to ensure access to integrated information across the enterprise:
  • Maximum flexibility for business growth and restructuring
  • Real savings when re-engineering business processes following internal consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions


Above: TOGAF 9.2 Architecture Development Method

We use a customised version of the TOGAF 9.2 Architecture Development Method (ADM) to help our clients align their business operations with IT. ADM provides a tested and repeatable process for developing architectures. The ADM includes establishing an architecture framework, developing architecture content, transitioning, and governing the realization of architectures.

All of these activities are carried out within an iterative cycle of continuous architecture definition and realization that allows organizations to transform their enterprises in a controlled manner in response to business goals and opportunities.

Phases within the ADM are as follows:

  • The Preliminary Phase describes the preparation and initiation activities required to prepare to meet the business directive for a new enterprise architecture, including the definition of an Organization-Specific Architecture framework and the definition of principles.
  • Phase A: Architecture Vision describes the initial phase of an architecture development cycle. It includes information about defining the scope, identifying the stakeholders, creating the Architecture Vision, and obtaining approvals.
  • Phase B: Business Architecture describes the development of a Business Architecture to support an agreed Architecture Vision.
  • Phase C: Information Systems Architectures describes the development of Information Systems Architectures for an architecture project, including the development of Data and Application Architectures.
  • Phase D: Technology Architecture describes the development of the Technology Architecture for an architecture project.
  • Phase E: Opportunities & Solutions conducts initial implementation planning and the identification of delivery vehicles for the architecture defined in the previous phases.
  • Phase F: Migration Planning addresses the formulation of a set of detailed sequence of transition architectures with a supporting Implementation and Migration Plan.
  • Phase G: Implementation Governance provides an architectural oversight of the implementation.
  • Phase H: Architecture Change Management establishes procedures for managing change to the new architecture.
  • Requirements Management examines the process of managing architecture requirements throughout the ADM.

Typical Deliverables

  • Strategic Options reports
  • Enterprise Architecture Reviews and Strategic Roadmaps and Technology Roadmaps
  • Business Architecture, Data and Information Architecture, Application Architecture, & Technology architectures
  • High Level Application Architecture Landscape
    • Interface catalog
    • Role/Application matrix
    • Application/Function matrix
  • Current state technical components inventory, risk based heatmaps, deployment and retirement roadmaps
  • Using Reference Architecture frameworks, and Capability Maturity Frameworks to establish the maturity of an organisation
  • Identify inherent technology risks because of age and functionality of the solution, including the flexibility for enhancement to support regulatory change
  • Logical Data Models, Business Functional Decomposition
  • Business Transformation Readiness Assessments
  • Common Business Semantics, Conceptual Data Model, Data Governance Framework.
  • Strategic initiatives to identify and manage data/information assets consistently across the enterprise, which aimed to reduce risk, increases accountability and improves operational efficiencies to gain competitive advantage.
  • Architecture Definition Document (ADD) and high-level solution design for the Foundation and Future states of Enterprise landscape, Fit-Gap analysis against business requirements to assist in estimation of effort for configuration, customisation and custom development.