I’ve worked with many organizations during my career to identify their objectives. I’ve dealt with big enterprises, small enterprises, and companies that have a mature enterprise architecture practice or are only just now starting, from retail to tech and everything in between.
Across all these different scenarios, I regularly witnessed teams struggling to articulate the value proposition of enterprise architecture. Having been involved with Enterprise Architecture and IT for 30 years, I am keenly aware of the benefits of having an architectural approach to success.
There should be no confusion as to the power of enterprise architecture to provide solutions to large, complex problems – it’s a fantastic tool for the modern, digital enterprise. After all, I’ve seen it at work many times throughout my career. The further we go down the path of the digital enterprise and the more reliant we become on technology to do business, enterprise architecture only stands to increase in importance.
From what I see, we can break down the value proposition of enterprise architecture into three main areas. These are what I consider to be the most relevant and possibly the most impactful areas where architects ought to spend their time and energy. That does not mean more traditional activities like guiding solution architecture are out of the picture. But realistically, considering the relationship that experience tells us enterprise architecture needs to have with people on the business side to be given a place at the strategic table, I would consider three areas where it can produce long-lasting positive effects.
The first one of these is Strategy Advancement. This concerns how the business can achieve its target outcomes and identify the means to do so. So what are we trying to achieve – do we know, do we have doubts about that? If we’re sure our goals are solid, then how do we make them happen, how do we ensure that every investment, or strategic decision, or new business process we set up is inline and actively supports achieving those goals.
Enterprise Architecture connects all these concepts across the different enterprise domains beautifully. When done in a leading platform like HoriZZon, the quality of the business intelligence insights that can be produced and delivered to the relevant audiences to ensure everyone’s eyes remain on the prize is invaluable. So strategy advancement is key in ensuring coordinated change across the entire business.
The second one of these areas is Risk Identification & Mitigation. Security and the risks to personal data have never been more relevant than now. This area of enterprise architecture’s value proposition deals with identifying the risks the organization faces in a way that allows architects to engage in a meaningful conversation with stakeholders on the business side about how we can address these risks.
Run Optimization focuses on optimizing the value of the company’s assets from a business or technical perspective (this also includes optimizing costs). So anything from process optimization initiatives to application portfolio management – all these areas where there is waste due to duplication or improper oversight etc. – enterprise architecture can come in and significantly impact things for the better, thanks to the transparent and enterprise-wide perspective it delivers.
ALSO READ: Become an Enterprise Architecture expert. Read our wiki
Suppose you’re working in enterprise architecture and feel like you’re struggling to maximize organizational value. In that case, starting with a strong foundation is important—one that likely aligns with one of the three key approaches outlined above.
The core idea is that enterprise architecture is a powerful solution for navigating a wide range of transformation scenarios. While I’ve grouped these into three categories for clarity, the overarching message remains. With the right approach, you can deliver tremendous value to your organization, tailored to how your organization defines value.
By connecting the dots between strategy, capabilities, applications, processes, and more, your efforts won’t just benefit localized projects or specific architecture disciplines. They’ll also empower leadership to make faster, better-informed decisions—unlocking strategic organizational value. As your framework grows and incorporates elements like application rationalization, security architecture, and data management, it sets the stage for a significantly improved future state for the entire organization.
Guest author and Lead Architect at NiSource
Joe is currently the Lead Architect at NiSource. He is a digital transformation strategist and operational leader with 20+ years of experience leading all aspects of enterprise architecture and global IT functions. He describes himself as a technology evangelist with a demonstrated ability to build cross-collaborative consensus.
