Enterprise architecture (EA) is the lynchpin that connects the two disciplines of IT governance and corporate governance.
So says Stuart Macgregor, CEO of Real IRM, who notes as enterprise technology has become an increasingly crucial factor in the well-being of companies in general, the field of IT governance has emerged as an important domain. Running concurrently to this has been the field of corporate governance, he adds.
According to Macgregor, having an established EA practice within the organisation means fragmented legacy applications and ad hoc structures and processes are transformed into an integrated environment. This enables the organisation to become more efficient and to better respond to change.
"With EA as the lynchpin, true 'knowledge management' occurs, where the various bodies of knowledge held in various corners of the company are packaged into models; then standardised; and can be re-used across the entire enterprise," he says.
He adds that with EA, assets are utilised to their optimum potential and the business is constantly scrutinised and repositioned to take into account the impact of disruptive external forces.
To Macgregor, the exact IT and corporate governance requirements depend on the nature and scale of the company, and the region(s) in which it is registered and operational.
For example, he explains, JSE-listed companies are mandated to follow the King III governance requirements, while US-listed companies have to consider Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, among other requirements.
"From an architectural perspective, the standards of Cobit 5 and Togaf form the cornerstones on which the EA practice is established," says Macgregor.
He says the frameworks are evolving continually, with a number of vertical-specific nuances being developed in parallel, all with the end-goal of improving the process of business transformation.
"In essence, the big step-change in recent years has been - among large companies - there is now very clear accountability for IT governance and enterprise architecture at a board/CEO level. No longer are these domains merely an IT discipline."
Macgregor also notes EA can boost competitive advantage as it gives organisations agility - the ability to respond to changing macro forces and technological advancements. It also enables innovation, as it lays a foundation where new ideas are crowdsourced from employees and partner ecosystems, and then analysed and prioritised according to business impact.
"With EA, intellectual capital becomes formalised as a corporate asset, arming those execs charting the strategic direction, with powerful information."
He states EA also ensures cost optimisation and efficiency, with resources (such as people, processes, technology, time, etc) being used more efficiently, resulting in a leaner and more productive operational environment.
It also provides better understanding and control over risks, as vulnerabilities are identified and the risks can be mitigated.
With EA, the organisation is also better "future-proofed" in the face of a rapidly shifting business landscape, he concludes.
Share