New Research Shows Enterprise Architecture is Crucial to Surviving and Thriving Post-COVID

ENSCHEDE, NETHERLANDS (PRWEB) MAY 03, 2021

Bizzdesign has published its first annual research report on the state of enterprise architecture maturity worldwide. The State of Enterprise Architecture 2021 unveils insights gathered from over 250 EA practitioners across industries and company sizes.

The report sought to understand the relationship between enterprise architecture maturity and the ability of organizations to survive and thrive in the post-COVID era.

Six key findings:

  1. Over half of all businesses are under pressure to adapt: Thirteen percent of respondents told us their organization is fighting for survival after a difficult 2020, with a further 43 percent saying they’d managed to survive, but that further adaptation will be crucial in 2021.
  2. Organizations with mature EA programs have the agility needed to adapt: The survey reveals a high correlation between EA maturity and organizational agility. EA leaders are not only capable of aligning capabilities with business strategy, but also of doing the right things at the right time to achieve positive outcomes for the business.
  3. Less-mature EA programs aren’t yet driving positive business outcomes: Organizations with lower levels of EA maturity aren’t yet reaping the full benefits of EA. While EA contributes to strategy and planning, it’s not driving more concrete outcomes – like faster time to market or an improved customer experience.
  4. EA must break out of its IT silo to have an impact: EA teams are good at helping IT to invest in the right tools to support business strategy. However, the responses suggest EA needs to increase its visibility and accessibility if it’s to have a strong impact on business performance.
  5. Mid-sized businesses are particularly at risk from nimbler competitors: While SMEs and large enterprises display higher levels of EA maturity, a ‘squeezed middle’ of organizations with 501-10,000 employees are lagging behind.
  6. Over one-third of practitioners lack an EA tool that’s fit for purpose: Two-thirds of respondents said they use an EA management tool that supports governed, collaborative design, adherence to industry standards, and powerful analysis. However, 35 percent don’t have access to a tool with these essential capabilities

Indre Wakil, Global Campaign Manager for BiZZdesign, said: “Darwin taught us that adaptation is the key to survival, and there has never been more pressure to adapt than now. Our findings clearly show that enterprise architecture has a critical role to play in enabling organizations to transform digitally and thrive in the post-COVID era.”

The EA maturity advantage
At the heart of the report is BiZZdesign’s model for assessing enterprise architecture maturity and evaluating its impact on business performance. The results show that EA leaders:

  • Have a 3.4x higher average organizational agility score than EA laggards
  • Are 4 times more likely to say they “out-change” their industry peers
  • Say they cope 2.6 times better with unplanned business changes
  • Are 2.9 times more likely to execute planned changes well
  • Devote 2.2x more of their IT resources to innovation and building new capabilities
  • Report a 3.6x higher customer experience (CX) maturity score

Download the full report.

About BiZZdesign
Bizzdesign offers an advanced enterprise software platform for planning, tracking, and executing business change, with a focus on improving the customer experience.    

The Bizzdesign Suite is deployed in blue chip companies and government organizations worldwide, where it enables meaningful business change for customers including ING Bank, Shell, Swisscard and Tata Steel.

Founded in 2000 as the commercial spin-off of a research and innovation institute, Bizzdesign is consistently recognized by industry analysts as a provider of best-in-class enterprise architecture solutions. Find out more at www.bizzdesign.com.

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