Many business leaders ask: "Isn't architecture an IT thing? If so, that's not my problem, that's IT's problem". The answer is, of course: It depends.

What exactly is enterprise architecture?

Historically, the majority of organizations have implemented IT on a per-project basis, leading to a profusion of... "stove-pipe" implementations.

EA is a top-down, business strategy-driven process that coordinates the parallel, internally consistent development of enterprise business, information, and technology architectures, as well as the enterprise solutions architecture. In layman terms, EA is not about how computers talk to one another, it is about a process that helps organizations think strategically about IT.

Historically, the majority of organizations have implemented IT on a per-project basis. This has led to a profusion of what is often termed "stove-pipe" implementations: isolated IT systems that are designed purely for a subset of the organization's business processes, usually without specific regard to the impact on, or the opportunities for reuse across, the rest of the organization.

In time, this leads to continually compounding levels of operational complexity and inefficiency through:

1. Duplication: multiple solutions providing similar business functions, leading to multiple vendors and contracts, duplication of support skills required, etc.
   
2. Customized integration: making sharing of information, data integrity and problem and change management difficult.
   
3. Unreliable impact analysis: without a clear "map" of system interconnectivity and interdependence, it is very difficult to assess change, leading to inaccurate budgeting and forecasting and lower levels of organizational agility.
   

Furthermore, because of this isolated, project-oriented approach, organizations struggled to clearly articulate and justify why they were making specific IT investments, and what the expected return on those investments would be at the enterprise level. This has resulted in ineffective governance and lack of accountability.

The silver bullet?
To address these issues, the concept of an IT EA was developed. EA, in its essence, is a description of how an organization's use of technology is specifically designed (architected) to support its business processes and strategic objectives. EA provides an enterprise-wide view of how all the organization's supporting IT systems (applications, infrastructure, data and information) fit together across the organization. The advantage of having such a view is that it becomes clear where the organization's use of IT is efficient and effective, where it can or should be enhanced or modified, and what the impact of change is (predictability and accountability).

In short, a well developed and maintained EA can drive an organization's financial efficiency and business effectiveness by ensuring that:

1. There is a clear map between business strategy and technology deployment.
2. The organization is more adaptive to change.
3. Information dependency is well understood, leading to seamless integration, data sharing and data integrity.
4. Security requirements and risk management strategies are holistic and effective.
5. Systems function and interoperate in a reliable and predictable manner leading to greater dependability and reliability.
6. IT governance is clear and effective.
7. There is minimal duplication of function and resources leading to maximal efficiency through reuse.

A process, not a thing