Sell EA based on customer’s demand

Week 3: Selling EA

This week you should focus on the need for an EA. How can you convince management to support an EA initiative?  Find some examples online and share your thoughts.

Write about other EA activities you engaged in the week.

The need for an EA

Nowadays, with the development of EA theory, more and more companies begin to realize the significance of EA while developing their business. Among so many different EA, TOGAF is one of the most mainstream enterprise architecture, which has over 15 years history. However, a lot of companies in China are not familiar with EA and the executives sometimes confuse different concepts, such as IT solution architecture, business architecture and enterprise architecture.

IT solution architecture includes elements like software, data and IT infrastructure. The solution focus on the IT problems of an enterprise and IT employees are the solution provider in general.

Business architecture includes element such as business process and information, organizational process and etc. It describes enterprises’ business performance and develops with the growth of business. In general, everyone in an enterprise would get involved in this architecture. However, most of them would not have a macro understanding of the enterprise’s business architecture.  

  

Enterprise architecture includes IT solution architecture and business architecture. Compared with these two architectures, it is intend to obtain three goals in an enterprise:

1.       Employees in different branches could have a common view about the enterprise’s current situation and goals.

2.       Provides a platform that employees could communicate with each other in more effective ways.

3.       Guarantee company’s policy and decision’s execution and implementation.

Sell based on customer’s demand

                                                                                                

Rational Tele logic System Architecture is based on the need of financial institutions, which includes:

1.       Aggregate and share information among different systems, improve the correlation between information.

2.       Support newly added business principle, such as “customer oriented”, “aggregated channel” and etc.

3.       Provide business management development units and support information system update.

4.       Information mining and support to make decisions.

The value of EA to executive

Considering the advantages of Rational Tele logic System Architecture, the following value to executive could be expected:

1.       Better ROI on IT project.

2.       Reduce cost of operating enterprise.

3.       Lower or even eliminate the risk of introducing IT system

4.       Optimizing the business process in the enterprise.

5.       Clear IT plan for the executives and shareholders.