Expanding our HoriZZon in 2021
2020 was a tough year. Covid-19 created a ‘perfect storm’, leaving many companies fighting an unfair fight. And we are still in the middle of it. Let 2021 be the start of a better future for all of us. Read more
BiZZdesign
Advancing Customer Experience with Open Banking: An Enterprise Architecture Approach
The Payment Directive Services (PSD2) regulation in Europe aims to foster innovation and competition among financial institutions across the industry by mandating that banks create APIs for digital banking transactions that can be used by value-added innovative service providers. Additionally, PSD2 aims to prevent customer lock-in by standardizing account switching capabilities, and to streamline payment processing. Read more
Address Regulatory Compliance Challenges in the Financial Services Industry with Enterprise Architecture
Regulatory compliance is a core business fact of life for the financial services industry today. Compliance is not only about combating financial crimes such as money laundering, fraud, and tax evasion. But also about operating in a prudent and responsible manner and being able to prove that you have the policies, procedures and processes in place to do it reliably – covering everything from capital and corporate governance to data privacy, disclosures and diversity. Compliance plays an essential role in helping to preserve the integrity and reputation of a bank.
Predict the Future and Build for Long-Term Wins with Enterprise Architecture
On a recent episode of the BiZZdesign EA Podcast, where we had an invitee from Thames Water, an interesting point was made that enterprise architecture can effectively enable companies to predict the future. I found it quite relevant in our fast–moving world. Nowadays businesses are competing more aggressively than ever, and the marketplace is constantly presenting organizations with new challenges. The result is that they need to operate with a keen eye on the future. Read more
BiZZdesign Connect Conference Links Attendees with Value
Designing Better Enterprises – Yes, Please!
The 2020 BiZZdesign Connect Conference has concluded and we’re happy to say it was a tremendous success! Our theme and proposition for you this year was Designing Better Enterprises, and apparently the rest of the world found it really relevant. So many hundreds of professionals attended the online event that took place Thursday, November 19th in order to witness the talks we had prepared! Read more
Improving the Use of Capabilities in Business Architecture
As I discussed in my previous blog and earlier, the capability concept is a great help in defining a good business architecture. It is used ever more widely and rightly so. As I mentioned in that blog, the concept itself is rooted in the defense domain, and from there it permeated various other domains. To quote again from the NATO Architecture Framework: “A capability is the ability to achieve a desired effect under specified standards and conditions. […] In NAF, the term is reserved for the specification of an ability to achieve an outcome. In that sense, it is dispositional – i.e. resources may possess a Capability even if they have never manifested that capability.” Read more
Capabilities vs. Business Functions: Same Difference?
In this recent video, I outlined why enterprise architecture is an essential instrument in improving the capabilities of your organization. The notions of capability and capability-based planning have become quite popular and important in enterprise and business architecture in recent years. But there is also some confusion around this concept, in particular for those who are familiar with the similar concept of business function. In this blog, I want to clarify some of this confusion. Read more
Enterprise Architecture and Capability-Based Planning
Business capabilities are stable building blocks that define what an organization does. They encompass elements such as people, processes and systems that come together to realize specific functions. Due to their relatively lasting nature and the way they consolidate various cross-domain components, capabilities are a very useful tool for facilitating dialogue between stakeholders on the business and IT sides of the organization. Specifically, by managing and planning the way these capabilities and their constituents interact with strategy, with technology components etc. organizations can better navigate the complexity inherent in any large enterprise’s business-IT landscape. Read more
Enterprise Architecture and Strategic Investment Planning
Even when an Enterprise Architecture practice is present in an organization, it is most often understood to be either strictly preoccupied with the management of IT, or at most with the management of business and IT together, but on a horizontal level. The truth is, however, that mature EA is not only capable but also expected to deliver a vertical line of sights between strategy to execution. This, by definition, entails giving guidance on the direction of investments and the orientation of change programs/projects. Read more
Enterprise Architecture and the Project Management Office
Planning and executing change is a key capability for organizations in this day and age. However, in order to do this successfully, businesses – especially large ones – must overcome the heavy burden of complexity that generally adds up as the organization scales up its operations. Complexity often means that an enterprise has little visibility into the full range of consequences for any proposed change or investment. Read more
How Do Enterprise Architects Get Invited to the Decision Table?
Enterprise Architecture Means Business
Perhaps it’s in the name – enterprise architecture. Maybe that’s what prevents business stakeholders from engaging in a more meaningful way with the EA team. Architecture summons images of systems design, technology infrastructure, software development – IT, in other words, and that spells techie guys in the basement. “Definitely not what we’re interested in”, the verdict probably goes. It’s quite possible that’s at least part of the problem. Read more
What Is the Value Proposition of Enterprise Architecture Today?
As the Vice President of Customer Value here at BiZZdesign, it’s my job to work with a great many organizations and identify ways for them to successfully achieve their objectives. This means I deal with big enterprises, small enterprises; companies that have a mature EA practice, or are only just now starting out; from retail to tech, and everything in between. Read more
Driving Business Collaboration
The past few months have presented both challenge and opportunity for all organizations. The problems are immediate; businesses face financial pressures to sustain an existing cost base in a context of reduced staff availability and reduced revenue. Given the changing social dynamics, the opportunities are numerous. Read more
Driving Organizational Change: The Heart of the Matter
I was recently invited onto the BiZZdesign Enterprise Architecture Podcast to discuss the journey of organizational change at the Royal Bank of Scotland, an initiative in which I’ve played an active role – and still do, in fact. I think it was a good talk and I encourage you to give it a listen if you can spare a few minutes. Read more
An EA Response to the Pandemic: Novozymes
Living in a new normal
It’s been roughly two months since the Covid-19 pandemic has forced everyone into quarantine. Although the situation is ‘exceptional’, it’s nonetheless starting to feel like a familiar sort of exceptionalism, something you don’t really remark as much anymore. Read more
A New Home for HoriZZon
While we are navigating the “new normal”, we are trying to cope with things in the best possible way. As such, we continue to realize new product developments and improvements for our customers. Read more
Looking Beyond Covid-19 to the Future
Covid-19 – a trying chapter not the end of the story
An EA Response to the Pandemic: What Enterprise Architects Can Do in This Time of Crisis
These are strange times and for many of us the world has been turned upside-down by the Covid-19 pandemic. Enterprise architects, used to a medium- and long-term focus, suddenly and urgently need to contribute to the very survival of their organizations in the immediate term. This requires a thorough rethink of what we do, but we won’t have time to sit back and contemplate the EA discipline. We need to take action now and with this blog post I want to give you some concrete ideas on this. Read more
For our Change Agents…
These are crazy times. We all see a lot of sad things happening around the world. In addition to the personal dramas of people falling ill, and medical systems being stretched, we see a lot of businesses struggle. ‘Lock-down’ situations reduce or eliminate revenue streams and there is great uncertainty about how long restrictions will continue to apply. Many business models are not sufficiently resilient to face the current crisis. Read more
An EA Response to the Pandemic, Part 1: University of Missouri
With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, it seems hard to imagine that so little time ago everything was business as usual. Read more