For an EA Leadership is Key

I thought it was good to read about the qualities that an EA must posses from a little different perspective than what we read about in class. Of course most of the necessities are the same, but in this writing, the importance of an EA being a leader is stressed a little more.

http://chriseaton.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/309/

Security Architecture

Very interesting piece on security architecture from Gunnar Peterson.

http://arctecgroup.net/pdf/ArctecSecurityArchitectureBlueprint.pdf

IT jobs: Winners and losers in the cloud era

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=2AE61312-1A64-6A71-CE0802AA07DFAFED

Interesting article that lists some of the winners and losers in terms of IT occupation with the rise of cloud computing. Among those listed, enterprise architect was ranked as the biggest winner. Enterprise architects are considered to have more important roles in the cloud era because 'within a cloud infrastructure, the relationships among applications, networks, and servers are far more complex than traditional infrastructures because there are so many additional connections.'

First rule of IT governance: To cut costs, align business and IT

http://searchmanufacturingerp.techtarget.com/news/2240038795/First-rule-of-IT-governance-To-cut-costs-align-business-and-IT

This beginning paragraph of this article points out that only about 25% of CFOs say their IT department adequately addresses changing business priorities, while less than a quarter say IT can provide the technology innovation their companies need. One of the reasons is that IT departments still focus too much on technology, while business managers see IT as a means to an end.

In order to bridge the gap, the article points out that the IT governance has to be put in place. By having a role as a cost saving tool especially in these economic times, IT governance puts emphasis on business value first and foremost and brings and business and IT departments together in this aspect. Additionally, IT governance can maintain strict controls over funding process to keep priorities in track and identify IT cost-cutting opportunities.

Different "Schools of thought" an Enterprise Architect could come from..

Nick Malik says that there are a handful of "Schools of thought" that emerge after looking at various discussions from different people. They speak common terminology, but they could be talking about different things.
1) Alignment architects : focused on interpreting strategy, making it actionable, and using it to scope and define business change initiatives.
2) Application architects : focused on implementing "Enterprise applications"
3) Information architects : managing information assets at enterprise level
4) Process architects : improving business processes
5) Strategy architects : helping business leaders create new strategies

Each of these folks are needed at different times to solve different problems and if we understand this we can spend much more time agreeing with one another.

Link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/nickmalik/archive/2011/07/01/ea-schools-of-thought.aspx

Measuring Enterprise Architecture

Nick Malik talks about measuring Enterprise Architecture. He talks about different metrics we should be collecting to measure Enterprise Architecture initiatives. He says that having a score card for our initiatives will give us a sense of where we are and if everything is going according to the plan.
These are the four general areas he suggests collecting metrics for:
1) EA environment and Activities  - "Proof of Life" metrics
2) EA compliance and adoption    - "Proof of Effect" metrics
3) Spending and Savings     - "Cost cutting" metrics
4) Revenue and Profit     - "Value stream" metrics

Link: http://blogs.msdn.com//b/nickmalik/archive/2009/03/06/how-do-you-measure-enterprise-architecture.aspx

How to Initiate an Enterprise Architecture Effort in an Austere Environment | Architecture and Governance – Strategic IT Planning and Enterprise Architecture

How to Initiate an Enterprise Architecture Effort in an Austere Environment | Architecture and Governance – Strategic IT Planning and Enterprise Architecture

This articles is quite the summary of what we have studied in the course. It talks about EA best practices and pitfalls. Overall a good structured document for taking a stab at enterprise architecture.

- Avinash