Enterprise Architecture for Strategy and Business Alignment

Question: Discuss about theEnterprise Architecture for Strategy and Business Alignment. Answer: Introduction There are a variety of Information Systems (IS) that are used and implemented in a business organization. These systems need to be adequately configured, integrated, and implemented to achieve the best results out of the same. Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a concept that allows the enterprises to strategically plan and align the information systems and applications with the business objectives. The main objective of EA is to present the guidelines that can be implemented by an enterprise so that it may achieve the business goals and objectives. It leads to quick decision making processes and also streamlines all of the business operations (Rajabi, Minaei Seyyedi, 2013). Enterprise Architects are the resources that are responsible for implementing and managing EA and these resources shall have communication with the fellow operators and team members. Problem Statement The problem with the information systems in an organization is the integration of varied systems and applications with each other along with the issues of data and information management. There are numerous security risks and attacks that emerge because of the loosely integrated systems that are not configured properly. Also, the organizations fail to analyze the information systems that are required by them and implement the ones that are not relevant. It leads to increase in costs and budget of the organization (Bergvall-Kareborn Howcroft, 2014). Enterprise Architecture is a concept that addresses all of such issues that are associated with the information systems installed in an organization. Policies Processes Enterprise Architecture amalgamates the description of the best applications, strategies, technologies, and procedures that an organization shall implement along with the integration mechanism between these elements. The current organization has defined a modeling language as a standard for all the units of the organization so that coherent architecture is put in place. There are specific complexities that are associated with each of the information system and application that is installed in an enterprise. The modeling language and foundations assist in the resolution of such issues. EA models ensure that the integration between the components is adequately done and the relationship is also covered well. The architectural practices and processes are highlighted as an outcome (Kappelman Zachman, 2013). Communication between the information systems installed in an organization is a significant need to achieve the benefits. Also, it is required that the internal and external stakeholders along with all of the resources engaged with an enterprise maintain enhanced communication levels with each other. The organization has implemented communication strategies and methods as a part of EA to strengthen the communication between the resources and stakeholders. There are architectural models that have been implemented to manage the current activities and assess the future events for detailed analysis. There are as-is and to-be scenarios developed for this purpose (Lankhorst et al., 2005). Stakeholders are the entities that are associated with a business organization implicitly or explicitly. The primary goal of an EA is to ensure that the needs of all the stakeholders are met and the engagement and satisfaction levels are enhanced. The information systems that are implemented in an enterprise are done with an objective to fulfill the customer and stakeholder needs (Iyamu, 2017). The Enterprise Architects and the stakeholders connect with each other to determine the scope of each of these systems. The absence of the same will lead to poorly defined scope and deteriorated satisfaction levels of the customers as well as stakeholders. The organization has defined a number of different viewpoints so that the social relationship between the stakeholders and the architects is defined adequately (Rozanski Woods, 2007). Functional Viewpoints: The functional requirements and aspects of all the information systems that need to be present in an EA are targeted and are mapped with specific stakeholders and architects. Information Viewpoint: Each of the information system that is configured for an enterprise comprises of the data and information sets of varied structures and types. There are specific methods and procedures that are implemented to handle such varied sets and are covered in this viewpoint. Concurrency Viewpoint: The concurrently occurring processes and methods are targeted under this viewpoint. Development Viewpoint: The development of one information system is different from the other and it depends largely upon the development methodology that is used. The viewpoint includes the varied developmental methods and tasks that are carried out for the information systems that are present in an EA. Deployment Viewpoint: The environment which will be used for the deployment of the IS and EA are included in this category. Operational Viewpoint: There are a variety of operational tasks and activities that are associated with each of the information systems and the same are targeted upon in this viewpoint. The viewpoints that have been listed are then mapped with the architectural perspectives and the association and relationships are drawn out as a result. The assessment of the requirements and needs of the stakeholders and the end-users is done with the definition of the functional specifications, scalability needs, system capabilities and qualities. The demands of the stakeholders and the users may vary constant and it is therefore necessary to ensure that the system flexibility and scalability is always maintained. There may also be other issues that may be involved in the modification of the system aspects (Kotusev, 2017). For instance, the increased development time associated with the information systems may lead to the change in the system scope along with the modifications in the architectural design and principles. The demand of each of the information system also varies in terms of the architecture, environment, technical requirements etc. For example, one of the information systems may perform better in isolation while there may be other system that may require enhanced level of integration. EA ensures that the adequate functional structure and design is prepared and implemented for each of the systems and the viewpoints of each are also defined clearly (Pirta Grabis, 2015). Adequate management is one of the necessary activities that play a significant role in the information systems as well in the Enterprise Architecture. There has been a lot of research that has been carried out in the management aspect of IS and EA. However, a common understanding has not been achieved yet. There are practically oriented research methodologies that have been defined to integrate the management tasks with the architectural, technical, and functional aspects of the systems. The development of such a theory is not sufficient. It is necessary to implement the same as per the feasibility of the system and the organization as whole (Simon et al., 2013). As a result, there are only handfuls of methods that can be actually implemented to achieve the desired results. The issue of inadequate planning is very popular among the enterprises as the management does not pay much attention to this particular aspect. However, planning is a necessary activity that shall be carried out a s a mandatory step (Masuda, Shirasaka, Yamamoto Hardjono, 2018). Security is another aspect that has been carefully and adequately planned and implemented in the EA. There are several risks and attacks to security that have been observed in association with the IS. This is because there are a number of access points that are present in these information systems. The access points are utilized by the attackers to give shape to the attacks that adversely implicate the properties of the information and data sets. The organization ensured that such security vulnerabilities and loopholes were avoided by closely syncing the systems and their components with each other (Chesla, 2004). The EA includes advanced security components and modules at every layer. There are mechanisms, such as access control, authentication, encryption, intrusions detection, and prevention that are used to prevent and avoid such security issues (Alshammari, 2017). Comparison between IS EA There are various differences between the information system its architecture and the enterprise architecture. Point of Difference IS its Architecture EA Scope Specific requirement sets are addressed Continuously changing and ambiguous requirements are addressed Product The system as a whole is developed as a product There are multiple modules and components developed along with numerous methods and procedures Stakeholders System Owner is the sole stakeholder There are numerous stakeholders involved Lifecycle It ends when the system is developed and is delivered The lifecycle continues in a loop and is for continuous improvement Governance Limited governance Enhanced level of governance Findings There are a number of different viewpoints and aspects that are associated with Information Systems, associated strategies, and Enterprise Architecture. In most of the research works and activities, the main focus is laid on the complete technical infrastructure and the modeling frameworks that are involved. As a result, the communication and relationship between the parties and the stakeholders is developed. The other works of research have focused on the stakeholders and their requirements. It has been stated that the stakeholder requirements shall be kept high on priority (Malta Sousa, 2016). Some of the research works and journals state that the planning and communication activities shall be considered as top priority while designing EA and IS. The decision-making activities are also taken accordingly. Components that Need Further Research There are certain areas that have not been completely explored by the researchers so far. The ethical aspect of the social relationships and engagement between the different stakeholders, architects, and resources is not covered. The researchers have mainly focused on the architectural models and structures, effective communication, effective planning and viewpoints are the main areas that are primarily covered. The ethical aspect is not covered well (Sasa Krisper, 2011). Enterprise Architecture has been depicted as an amalgamated unit of various modules that and combined together in one framework. The above sections also provide details on the specific architectural requirements and functioning information (Shah Kourdi, 2007). The specific needs of all the individual entities associated with the information systems and the EA shall also be addressed so that the specific objectives can be attained. The research articles, journals, and papers do not lay emphasis on the ethical professional codes that shall be complied with and reflected in the process. Consequences Impacts of EA Processes The research works that have been analyzed and references consider social relationship and communication between the stakeholders and the architects as a prime necessity. There are several advantages that are provided to the business organizations as a result of the development and implementation of strong social relationships. The specific requirements of the stakeholders will provide the basic necessities and patterns that shall be implemented. The stakeholder will achieve the needs as per their requirements without any ambiguities and confusion (Donaldson, Blackburn, Blessner Olson, 2015). As a result, the operational errors will be reduced and the amount of re-work that is usually required with the information systems and their configuration is also brought down. There are advantages that are provided to the enterprises as well. The performance of the enterprises is improved. Conclusion EA is a concept that allows the enterprises to strategically plan and align the information systems and applications with the business objectives. The main objective of EA is to present the guidelines that can be implemented by an enterprise so that it may achieve the business goals and objectives. Enterprise Architecture amalgamates the description of the best applications, strategies, technologies, and procedures that an organization shall implement along with the integration mechanism between these elements. Communication between the information systems installed in an organization is a significant need to achieve the benefits. Also, it is required that the internal and external stakeholders along with all of the resources engaged with an enterprise maintain enhanced communication levels with each other. The Enterprise Architects and the stakeholders connect with each other to determine the scope of each of these systems. Adequate management is one of the necessary activities that play a significant role in the information systems as well in the Enterprise Architecture. There are several risks and attacks to security that have been observed in association with the IS. This is because there are a number of access points that are present in these information systems. The EA includes advanced security components and modules at every layer. There are mechanisms, such as access control, authentication, encryption, intrusions detection, and prevention that are used to prevent and avoid such security issues. References Alshammari, B. (2017). Enterprise Architecture Security Assessment Framework (EASAF). Journal Of Computer Science, 13(10), 558-571. https://dx.doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2017.558.571 Bergvall-Kareborn, B., Howcroft, D. (2014). Persistent problems and practices in information systems development: a study of mobile applications development and distribution. Information Systems Journal, 24(5), 425-444. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/isj.12036 Chesla, A. (2004). Information Security: A Defensive Battle. 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