10.08.09
Enterprise Architecture and Tough Economic Times
Rumor has it that Enterprise Architects live in an “Ivory Tower”. During good times, they can join up with senior management and lay out plans to grow an organization and put in governance to make the best use of resources. This usually includes a “To Be” architecture that specifies some significant investment in infrastructure.
During tough times, when money and time is short, the Enterprise Architect’s message does not seem relevant. The senior management does not see any particular benefit for futuristic Enterprise Architects. The thought being that long-range strategic planning is less important when an organization is in a crisis of survival.
Should Enterprise Architects simply take the stand that the reason for the crisis was the lack of strategic planning in the first place? Enterprise Architects could simple say they told you so and write off any struggling organizations as poorly managed. Of course, this would be ridiculous. Organizations cannot predict the future. They do their best with strategic planning and focus on those things that will benefit the organization in both the short and long term.
So how can Enterprise Architects be relevant during tough times? Clearly, they must bring value to help move organizations from their current crisis of survival. This means being an advocate for senior management and being skeptical of the value that the Corporate IT organization brings to the table.
Certainly, every Enterprise Architect agrees with being an advocate for senior management, but what about this skeptic thing? Shouldn’t the Corporate IT organization be viewed as the provider of solutions? The answer is “No”. Corporate IT organizations provide skilled resources and technologies to implement and operate the corporate solutions. But, the best solution providers are the corporate lines-of-business. It is each line-of-business that is trying to survive. They are the ones on the field playing the game. The Corporate IT organization is more like the cheerleaders.
What the Enterprise Architect can do is bring visualization of IT to each line-of-business. The Enterprise Architect can be a facilitator and a communicator that sets an environment for each line-of-business to innovate their own future.
Those that have the greatest potential to lose and gain during tough times, each line-of-business, should be supported by the Enterprise Architect. Enterprise Architects can be relevant by providing this support to help equip each line-of-business with the IT knowledge needed to win.
