The Enterprise Architecture Definition Collection
It's interesting, at least to me, to get a sense for all the different definitions of enterprise architecture out there. So, over time, I will post other people's definitions of enterprise architecture (and their sources) as I run across them in the literature, blogs, and websites. Updated November 5, 2006.
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Maybe the problem is that the word enterprise is abused. Some folks
consider the word to refer to size of organization, while others thinks
that it refers to a class of software in terms of its ability to scale
along a variety of dimensions. Of course, as someone who has been
called enterprisey on multiple occasions, I don't subscribe to any of
these definitions. The best definition and the one I subscribe to is
that the real meaning of enterprise refers to a sales model. If some
non-technical guy shows up in a suit ready and willing to do
chock-a-block eye candy Powerpoint presentations that lack substance
for a solution, then it is enterprise. If the solution simply works and
doesn't require talking with sales folks then it isn't enterprise.
Self-proclaimed "Thought Leader" James McGovern in his blog, November 5, 2006. Posted November 5, 2006
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An enterprise architecture (EA) is a conceptual blueprint that defines the structure and operation of an organization. The intent of an enterprise architecture is to determine how an organization can most effectively achieve its current and future objectives.
Microsoft's Michael Platt offers a view of enterprise architecture as containing four points-of-view, called the business perspective, the application perspective, the information perspective, and the technology perspective. The business perspective defines the processes and standards by which the business operates on a day-to-day basis. The application perspective defines the interactions among the processes and standards used by the organization. The information perspective defines and classifies the raw data (such as document files, databases, images, presentations, and spreadsheets) that the organization requires in order to efficiently operate. The technology perspective defines the hardware, operating systems, programming, and networking solutions used by the organization.
Purported advantages of having an enterprise architecture include improved decision making, improved adaptability to changing demands or market conditions, elimination of inefficient and redundant processes, optimization of the use of organizational assets, and minimization of employee turnover.
SearchCIO.com - CIO Definitions, June 8, 2005. Posted October 13, 2006.
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The enterprise architecture is the organizing logic for business processes and IT infrastructure, reflecting the integration and standardization requirements of the company's operating model (where the operating model is defined as the necessary level of business process integration and standardization for delivering goods and services to customers). The enterprise architecture provides a long-term view of a company's processes, systems, and technologies so that individual projects can build capabilities - not just fulfill immediate needs.
Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, David C. Robertson, Enterprise Architecture As Strategy, Harvard Business School Press, 2006. Posted October 3, 2006.
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Definition: Enterprise Architecture is about understanding all of the different elements that go to make up the enterprise and how those elements interrelate. An Enterprise in this context is any collection of organizations that has a common set of goals/principles and/or single bottom line. In that sense, an enterprise can be a whole corporation, a division of a corporation, a government organization, a single department, or a network of geographically distant organizations linked together by common objectives. Elements in this context are all the elements that enclose the areas of People, Processes, Business and Technology. In that sense, examples of elements are: strategies, business drivers, principles, stakeholders, units, locations, budgets, domains, functions, processes, services, information, communications, applications, systems, infrastructure, etc.
Institute For Enterprise Architecture Developments (IFEAD), "Trends in Enterprise Architecture 2005: How Are Organizations Progressing?" Posted June 9, 2006
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Good Enterprise Architecture:
- Improves internal communications by providing a common language for describing how technology can support business initiatives.
- Helps companies link business and IT priorities by creating road maps for decisionmaking about technology initiatives.
- Helps reduce costs by encouraging technology standards throughout the organization, thus allowing IT to pinpoint trade-offs in project costs based on adherence to architectural requirements.
- Improves the quality of technology initiatives for business by easily explaining plans to a broad range of constituents.
Poor Enterprise Architecture:
- Enforces the use of technical terms and jargon that confuse both business and IT.
- Creates such a high level of detail for defining technology initiatives that decisionmaking is paralyzed.
- Requires a level of standardization that can potentially limit business-unit flexibility and speed to market.
- Has unrealistic goals for transition to new corporate technologies.
CIO Insight magazine (website), "Enterprise Architecture Fact Sheet"
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Enterprise Architecture is an infrastructure and a set of Machines constructed in order to manage a chaotic, dynamic, unpredictable, complex, organic, prone to error, frustrating, Enterprise IT, which has to support an ever increasing, dynamic portfolio of products and services, through constant "ASAP, Now, Right-Away" modifications of business processes.
Muli Koppel, Muli Koppel's Blog, published February 22, 2006
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Enterprise architecture (EA) refers to the manner in which the operations, systems, and technology components of a business are organized and integrated. It defines many of the standards and structures of these components and is a critical aspect of allowing capabilities and their supporting applications to develop independently while all work together as part of an end-to-end solution. An EA consists of several compenent architectures which often go by different names. Some of the common ones are: business/functional architecture; data/information architecture; applications/systems architecture; infrastructure/technology architecture; operations and execution architecture.
John Schmidt, David Lyle, Integration Competency Center: An Implementation Methodology, 2005, Informatica Corporation. Posted January 29, 2006.
A long list of definitions shows that EA's a very complex and integrated process and undergoes changers and improvement. Summing up all the definitions EA is a constant infrastructure and the manner of systems and technical components operations' development based on the logic for business.
Posted by: Tanya | October 04, 2006 at 10:24 AM
Robert, making a collection od definitions of EA is a worthwhile effort.
Too many deffinitions could mean that nobody knows the real essence of EA.
I'm interested in finding the true nature of things, relations and ideas.
I'd love to know what EA really is and what is it's purpose and I will continue to read your posts with great interest.
Posted by: Natalija | October 03, 2006 at 03:06 PM
Check out the page "How Do You Define Software Architecture?" (http://www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/definitions.html)
It is a huge list of definition from different person. They define "software architecture" but like in "enterprise architecture" the key word is architecture.
One of my favorite from this list is
"Software Architecture is a way of developing software systems. It facilitates migration from problem space (Requirements) to solution space (Working system)"
Niraj Trivedi
Posted by: Aurélien | April 03, 2006 at 08:54 AM