This article explains how to establish a powerful management model to align business and technology initiatives and help data, process, and technology flow together through enterprise architecture. And the article defines the term “Enterprise Architecture” and shows how four different companies describe their enterprise operating models based on their business model designs.
Enterprise architecture shortly is the process of an organization’s standardizing and organizing IT infrastructure and business processes according to the requirements of the company’s operating model. “Core Diagrams” are used to show high-level picture of business processes and IT requirements for desired foundation of execution and help management to understand enterprise architecture more clearly.
The key point that I took from this reading is the importance of determining process, data, technology, and customer interfaces to realize planned enterprise architecture successfully so that company’s all resources including IT infrastructure serve business goals and become more agile against to changes, and develop future strategies . All the companies mentioned in the article use common elements for their core diagram, but they have different approaches to develop their diagrams according to their operating model, which are coordination, unification, diversification, and replication. For example, MetLife adopted a coordination model which uses high business process integration and low business process standardization. On the other hand, Delta Airlines adopted a unification model which uses high business process integration and high business process standardization.
One point that I took from the reading was how each business will utilize a different model when determining the proper EA to meet the needs of the employees and customers. The common elements of EA core diagrams include core business processes, share data driving core processes, key linking and automation technologies, and key customers. Depending on the type of business/what the business offers to consumers, models such as unification, diversification, coordination, or replication model, will be used to allow for an easier understanding of how the business executes its services. These models typically don’t include all of these elements, and it’s possible that only one element may be included. From this, we can see how it’s important to understand how businesses can differ from each other, and that there isn’t necessarily one right or wrong way of completing a task.
The enterprise architecture describes the high-level of business process and IT requirements of a company’s operating model. There are 4 common elements in its core diagrams:
– core business process
– shared data driving core processes
– key linking and automation technologies
– key customers
The Unification model (Delta): This model uses both the integration and standardization of business processes. It would be interesting to have more details about how, where and what security control was implemented.
There are 4 core processes (Operational pipeline, Business reflexes, Employee relationship management, and customer experience). Nine core databases (Delta nervous system) can be accessed through mobile devices and reservation systems, knowing that software and data are shared in real-time.
The Diversification model (Carlson): Opposite of the Unification model above with shared technologies/ services/ data center/ networks and even offshore systems.
In Carlson’s core diagram. Common infrastructure and business processes have security architecture and IT resilience protecting those shared technologies. What kind of security/resilience do they use?
The Coordination model (Metlife): emphasis on shared key customers, shared data and standardization across all business products through common integration hubs. Security and entitlements are present for the application presentation tier and screen entry and validation.
The Replication model (ING): the modularity of the system, the same business processes, the keys customers, the standardization, and the automating technology are made to easily replicate from one operating model to another. In this model, data rarely appear in the core diagram because they are not shared across business units. The security is not appearing in the core diagram.
The article talks about how important to develop the operating model via enterprise architecture to be aligned with business and technology. In addition, four main different models applying to the architecture are a unification model, a diversification model, a coordination model, and a replication model.
One key point that I took from this article is that there is no exact pattern of creating enterprise architecture but it depends on each nature of business and the data that organizations have. Senior management level who is mainly responsible for designing enterprise architecture should well understand and clearly identify the people, process, and technology. Lastly, implementing good enterprise architecture can enhance information integrity and reduce redundancy of the systems.
This article sums up the importance of enterprise architecture (EA) to corporations. The 4 businesses mentioned use differing enterprise architectures as per the needs of their business. Every model comes with its pros and cons however, as stated the four common elements in every enterprise architecture model are core business processes, shared data driving core processes, key linking and automation technologies and key customers.
The striking point for me from this article was, still many companies feel designing and implementing the EA is the responsibility of IT department which has led to its unsuccessful implementation and eventual abandonment. Enterprise architecture operating model selection should involve the senior management as the implementation of any model has serious impact on the organization. For changing the EA model includes re-engineering and relearning of critical business processes, involvement from senior management as well experienced IT managers is crucial. EA enables standardization of business processes with the IT and thus provides clarification on the vision of organization.
In the Harvard Business case, “Implement the Operating Model via Enterprise Architecture” by Ross, Weill, and Robertson, there were many ‘nuggets’ that can be transferred to a corporate environment. One aspect that hit home with me was the section on “Enterprise Architecture” (which we have covered in the ITACS program). In this section, there is an explanation on the design and creation process of IS systems throughout an organization.
In the section, the authors focused on identifying the processes, data, technologies, and customer interfaces. Some of these aspects are obvious, however the technologies and interfaces I seem too forget and bypass in my planning and creation processes. In the next section, there is an explanation on what the differences are between the architecture of the Enterprise and the IT sides. While IT is encompassed in the Enterprise, it must be looked at and viewed in its own lenses/perspective. Therefore, adequate attention and focus must be given to the IT architecture.
Enterprise architecture can help an enterprise achieve its goals efficiently.The cases in this article show that in the absence of a reasonable enterprise system, the enterprise can quickly meet the requirements, but always need to re-examine the business in the end.It will cost more time and money.The goal of enterprise architecture is to achieve maximum business value through IT investments. IT is a high-level enterprise vision that focuses on the organization’s IT architecture and business architecture.The Unification model, Diversification model, Coordination model, Replication model.
Among them, different models correspond to businesses with different requirements, so we need to learn and understand the model, and select the most appropriate model to establish the enterprise architecture for different business environments in the future.
The focal points i took from this Harvard business review is the utmost importance of planning based on the business needs rather than making technical drawing that may turn into ‘ornaments.’
For instance, the review states that “Many companies attack the enterprise with architecture exercise with lots of drawings and analysis of both existing and hoped for systems capabilities. But massive analytical efforts do not focus resources on what matters. As defines in the review, an effective enterprise architecture identifies the processes, data, technologies and customer interfaces that take the operating model from vision to reality.”
Furthermore, the business review shades light on the four common elements in enterprise architecture that help lay the foundation for execution and these include; core business processes, shared data driving, key linking and automation technologies and key customers. However, these are then applied to differently to specific operating models like the unification, diversification, replication and the coordination model. It’s important noted that all these processes should start with senior management debating the operational model and then use the templates to provide starting point.
A key takeaway from this reading was how important the core diagram is to shape an understanding of a companies enterprise architecture and make informed decisions in the future. Getting the core diagram right consists of aligning it with how the business operates, This is shown in the four different models, Unification, diversification, coordination, and replication. Picking the right model that suits your businesses process and operations enables you to have a useful core diagram and a well understood enterprise architecture.
After reading through the case study “Implement the Operating Model Via Enterprise Architecture”, which sought to educate readers on some of the varieties and reasoning behind the implementation of enterprise architecture models, I found that I had learned quite a bit in regards to the requirements for appropriate enterprise architecture core diagrams. One of the more important requirements for core diagrams, which also poses a challenge to many organizations, is that they need to simplify many of the organizations complex functional layouts, which include detailed systems and processes, into core functionalities and processes that encapsulate the nature of the organization.
One key point to remember from this document is knowing who should design enterprise architecture. Some organizations allocate this responsibility to small IT team confined into a corner of the firm’s office building to design and present what they feel is good for the business, and at the end the project is never acted upon. According to this report, the enterprise architecture process should start with senior management debating the operational model. This approach will enable management to decide what is really core to the firm, and identify the customer types, core processes, shared data and/or technologies to be standardized. When the organization builds the capabilities defined in the core diagram, it becomes easier, faster and cheaper to implement strategies around the firm’s goals & objectives.
The key takeaway for me is about enterprise architecture for a Unification Model. For a big company, they need to deal with all different types of customers. Companies like Apple, they not only sell computers and smartphones to individual customers, but also sell computers to schools and organizations. To deal with different types of customers, they will need a unification operating model, which means both integration and standardization of business processes are required to serve different key customer types. Under the unification model, the first step is to define the core processes which are customer experience, operational pipeline, business reflexes, and employee relationship management. After meeting an agreement on the core processes, they will identify the types of data critical to process execution. With the unification model, a highly standardized and integrated environment with standard processes access shared data to make products and services available to customers.
This article explains how to establish a powerful management model to align business and technology initiatives and help data, process, and technology flow together through enterprise architecture. And the article defines the term “Enterprise Architecture” and shows how four different companies describe their enterprise operating models based on their business model designs.
Enterprise architecture shortly is the process of an organization’s standardizing and organizing IT infrastructure and business processes according to the requirements of the company’s operating model. “Core Diagrams” are used to show high-level picture of business processes and IT requirements for desired foundation of execution and help management to understand enterprise architecture more clearly.
The key point that I took from this reading is the importance of determining process, data, technology, and customer interfaces to realize planned enterprise architecture successfully so that company’s all resources including IT infrastructure serve business goals and become more agile against to changes, and develop future strategies . All the companies mentioned in the article use common elements for their core diagram, but they have different approaches to develop their diagrams according to their operating model, which are coordination, unification, diversification, and replication. For example, MetLife adopted a coordination model which uses high business process integration and low business process standardization. On the other hand, Delta Airlines adopted a unification model which uses high business process integration and high business process standardization.
One point that I took from the reading was how each business will utilize a different model when determining the proper EA to meet the needs of the employees and customers. The common elements of EA core diagrams include core business processes, share data driving core processes, key linking and automation technologies, and key customers. Depending on the type of business/what the business offers to consumers, models such as unification, diversification, coordination, or replication model, will be used to allow for an easier understanding of how the business executes its services. These models typically don’t include all of these elements, and it’s possible that only one element may be included. From this, we can see how it’s important to understand how businesses can differ from each other, and that there isn’t necessarily one right or wrong way of completing a task.
The enterprise architecture describes the high-level of business process and IT requirements of a company’s operating model. There are 4 common elements in its core diagrams:
– core business process
– shared data driving core processes
– key linking and automation technologies
– key customers
The Unification model (Delta): This model uses both the integration and standardization of business processes. It would be interesting to have more details about how, where and what security control was implemented.
There are 4 core processes (Operational pipeline, Business reflexes, Employee relationship management, and customer experience). Nine core databases (Delta nervous system) can be accessed through mobile devices and reservation systems, knowing that software and data are shared in real-time.
The Diversification model (Carlson): Opposite of the Unification model above with shared technologies/ services/ data center/ networks and even offshore systems.
In Carlson’s core diagram. Common infrastructure and business processes have security architecture and IT resilience protecting those shared technologies. What kind of security/resilience do they use?
The Coordination model (Metlife): emphasis on shared key customers, shared data and standardization across all business products through common integration hubs. Security and entitlements are present for the application presentation tier and screen entry and validation.
The Replication model (ING): the modularity of the system, the same business processes, the keys customers, the standardization, and the automating technology are made to easily replicate from one operating model to another. In this model, data rarely appear in the core diagram because they are not shared across business units. The security is not appearing in the core diagram.
The article talks about how important to develop the operating model via enterprise architecture to be aligned with business and technology. In addition, four main different models applying to the architecture are a unification model, a diversification model, a coordination model, and a replication model.
One key point that I took from this article is that there is no exact pattern of creating enterprise architecture but it depends on each nature of business and the data that organizations have. Senior management level who is mainly responsible for designing enterprise architecture should well understand and clearly identify the people, process, and technology. Lastly, implementing good enterprise architecture can enhance information integrity and reduce redundancy of the systems.
This article sums up the importance of enterprise architecture (EA) to corporations. The 4 businesses mentioned use differing enterprise architectures as per the needs of their business. Every model comes with its pros and cons however, as stated the four common elements in every enterprise architecture model are core business processes, shared data driving core processes, key linking and automation technologies and key customers.
The striking point for me from this article was, still many companies feel designing and implementing the EA is the responsibility of IT department which has led to its unsuccessful implementation and eventual abandonment. Enterprise architecture operating model selection should involve the senior management as the implementation of any model has serious impact on the organization. For changing the EA model includes re-engineering and relearning of critical business processes, involvement from senior management as well experienced IT managers is crucial. EA enables standardization of business processes with the IT and thus provides clarification on the vision of organization.
In the Harvard Business case, “Implement the Operating Model via Enterprise Architecture” by Ross, Weill, and Robertson, there were many ‘nuggets’ that can be transferred to a corporate environment. One aspect that hit home with me was the section on “Enterprise Architecture” (which we have covered in the ITACS program). In this section, there is an explanation on the design and creation process of IS systems throughout an organization.
In the section, the authors focused on identifying the processes, data, technologies, and customer interfaces. Some of these aspects are obvious, however the technologies and interfaces I seem too forget and bypass in my planning and creation processes. In the next section, there is an explanation on what the differences are between the architecture of the Enterprise and the IT sides. While IT is encompassed in the Enterprise, it must be looked at and viewed in its own lenses/perspective. Therefore, adequate attention and focus must be given to the IT architecture.
Enterprise architecture can help an enterprise achieve its goals efficiently.The cases in this article show that in the absence of a reasonable enterprise system, the enterprise can quickly meet the requirements, but always need to re-examine the business in the end.It will cost more time and money.The goal of enterprise architecture is to achieve maximum business value through IT investments. IT is a high-level enterprise vision that focuses on the organization’s IT architecture and business architecture.The Unification model, Diversification model, Coordination model, Replication model.
Among them, different models correspond to businesses with different requirements, so we need to learn and understand the model, and select the most appropriate model to establish the enterprise architecture for different business environments in the future.
The focal points i took from this Harvard business review is the utmost importance of planning based on the business needs rather than making technical drawing that may turn into ‘ornaments.’
For instance, the review states that “Many companies attack the enterprise with architecture exercise with lots of drawings and analysis of both existing and hoped for systems capabilities. But massive analytical efforts do not focus resources on what matters. As defines in the review, an effective enterprise architecture identifies the processes, data, technologies and customer interfaces that take the operating model from vision to reality.”
Furthermore, the business review shades light on the four common elements in enterprise architecture that help lay the foundation for execution and these include; core business processes, shared data driving, key linking and automation technologies and key customers. However, these are then applied to differently to specific operating models like the unification, diversification, replication and the coordination model. It’s important noted that all these processes should start with senior management debating the operational model and then use the templates to provide starting point.
A key takeaway from this reading was how important the core diagram is to shape an understanding of a companies enterprise architecture and make informed decisions in the future. Getting the core diagram right consists of aligning it with how the business operates, This is shown in the four different models, Unification, diversification, coordination, and replication. Picking the right model that suits your businesses process and operations enables you to have a useful core diagram and a well understood enterprise architecture.
After reading through the case study “Implement the Operating Model Via Enterprise Architecture”, which sought to educate readers on some of the varieties and reasoning behind the implementation of enterprise architecture models, I found that I had learned quite a bit in regards to the requirements for appropriate enterprise architecture core diagrams. One of the more important requirements for core diagrams, which also poses a challenge to many organizations, is that they need to simplify many of the organizations complex functional layouts, which include detailed systems and processes, into core functionalities and processes that encapsulate the nature of the organization.
One key point to remember from this document is knowing who should design enterprise architecture. Some organizations allocate this responsibility to small IT team confined into a corner of the firm’s office building to design and present what they feel is good for the business, and at the end the project is never acted upon. According to this report, the enterprise architecture process should start with senior management debating the operational model. This approach will enable management to decide what is really core to the firm, and identify the customer types, core processes, shared data and/or technologies to be standardized. When the organization builds the capabilities defined in the core diagram, it becomes easier, faster and cheaper to implement strategies around the firm’s goals & objectives.
The key takeaway for me is about enterprise architecture for a Unification Model. For a big company, they need to deal with all different types of customers. Companies like Apple, they not only sell computers and smartphones to individual customers, but also sell computers to schools and organizations. To deal with different types of customers, they will need a unification operating model, which means both integration and standardization of business processes are required to serve different key customer types. Under the unification model, the first step is to define the core processes which are customer experience, operational pipeline, business reflexes, and employee relationship management. After meeting an agreement on the core processes, they will identify the types of data critical to process execution. With the unification model, a highly standardized and integrated environment with standard processes access shared data to make products and services available to customers.