In our first post “Origins of Enterprise Architecture Frameworks”, we discussed the origination of frameworks and the context for enterprise architecture frameworks, but in the enterprises of today, digital transformation, technological disruption, and business agility have forced frameworks to evolve. Traditional Enterprise Architecture and the frameworks that support it have been shaken to their core by the need to not only keep up with the pace of change, but to predict, facilitate, and leverage that change to the advantage of the business. That is what is expected of the enterprise architecture function today: enterprise architects expect a framework that helps them live up to those expectations…or face extinction.

How does enterprise architecture help companies manage risk?   

Outgrowing things happen all the time in life, it’s part of maturing, growing up, and general life changes. Just like in life, organizations mature, develop, and grow and, as such their needs change. As easily and as commonly as people can outgrow homes, jobs, and clothing, organizations can outgrow enterprise architecture (EA) tools. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s something you can’t ignore and need to address. Let’s review the signs your organization has outgrown your current EA point solution or Excel, Visio, or PowerPoint and need a new, more robust tool.

How does enterprise architecture enable Agile?   How can companies ensure their projects are on-strategy?  Should Agile teams have a resident enterprise architect?   

Businesses have always been complex. Producing something that people want at a price that they are willing to pay may sound simple, but acquiring resources, ensuring their constant availability, creating a quality product, marketing that product, collecting payment, reporting, and complying with whatever regulations are relevant are individually complex. Assemble these actions into a chain, and the complexity increases exponentially.
What happens when digital disruption, market fluidity, cyber security, global reach and ever-changing regulatory requirements are introduced? 

How does enterprise architecture engage with the business today? How can EA help the Business and IT align and work closer together?