How to quantify business value generated by enterprise architecture? Read On!
There is no one exact definition of EA. Some have described EA as an abstraction of organizations' current and future states and the transition to future states, while others interpret EA as a blueprint of organizations. Still others think of enterprise architecture (EA) as a comprehensive term used to describe the planning, design, and implementation of an organization's systems. These definitions of EA have evolved over the last few decades as technology has changed, businesses have become more complex, and the role of enterprise architecture has changed.
In a nutshell, enterprise architecture helps organizations design, implement, and manage their business plans in an efficient way seamlessly integrating and powering them with information technology. In other words, an enterprise architecture helps organizations achieve their goals using information technology.
It does this by assisting the enterprise in running its business processes, operations, and making changes (such as meeting business goals effectively) while taking into account the current use of technology in business. Technology has drastically changed how businesses operate, so having a clear perspective of how EA can help is essential.
EA has a wide range of applications in an organization as its capabilities can be applied to business processes, information security, network performance, systems and data integration, and human resources. Consequently, EA assists in meeting many different business and technology objectives; some of the most common include digital transformation, IT infrastructure enhancement, utilization of IT resources, and modernization. The benefits accruing from the application of enterprise architecture (EA) frameworks are well-documented with many organizations having reaped the rewards of using an EA.
Even though much has been written about the benefits of implementing EA in an organization, the factors discussed have either been limited in scope or lacking empirical evidence. There are, therefore, outstanding questions regarding EA’s ability to create purported business benefits for the organization. CIOs must understand exactly where, what, and how much business value is created by enterprise architecture so they can justify their investment in this indispensable tool.
Toward that end we refer you to an investigation into the benefits from enterprise architecture. Specifically, how to visualize and understand the business benefits EA implementation brings to the organization.
This case study discusses the impact of EA on an organization in the context of business, technology and management. In order to realize benefits within these contexts, this exploration:
- Identifies three categories of business benefits from EA implementation
- Proposes a framework to identify and measure EA benefits
- Provides a step by step approach for the measurement of benefits using the benefits realization framework
- Validates this framework and process by applying it in a real world organization
This case study will help you learn an approach to identify, measure, and track business benefits from enterprise architecture planning. CIOs can use this EA Benefits Model in their own organization to track the return on investment from their EA investments and communicate the same to get business buy-in.
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