IT Management Processes
Enterprise Architectures
An enterprise architecture is a description of the business objectives of an organization, how these objectives are achieved through business processes and how these business processes can be supported through the use of IT.
The enterprise architecture is represented by a set of models that describes and relates the business objectives, the business processes, the information systems and the IT platform and that will be required to support the business processes of an organization or a part of it.
Components of an enterprise architecture
As shown in figure 1, an enterprise architecture is composed of three levels or layers. The top layer, called the Business Architecture, describes the organization (or a part of it), its objectives, its business processes, its actors, its business rules, and its organizational structure, among others. The middle layer is known as the Information Systems Architecture. It describes the software applications and the data repositories (e.g., databases, files, data warehouses, etc.) that the organization uses to support its business processes. The lower layer is identified as the Technology Architecture. This layer provides details of the software, hardware and telecommunications platforms, on which the information system layer is developed, installed, and operated.
Figure 1: Levels of an enterprise architecture
The location of the layers defines the relations of dependence between architectures. The Information Systems Architecture is developed and operated with the support of the Technology Architecture. The Business Architecture is composed by business processes that are supported by the Information Systems Architecture. These relationships are crucial to ensure the proper alignment between the business, its information systems, and its IT platform.
States of an enterprise architecture
The enterprise architecture of an organization is represented at two different instants of time: current and future. These moments determine two different states of the architecture, as shown in figure 2. At the current moment, the enterprise architecture is described as it is by the time the EA planning is in progress. This state defines the baseline of the enterprise architecture. At the future moment, the enterprise architecture is described as it is targeted, that is, as it should be implemented in the next 3-5 years.
Figure 2: States of an enterprise architecture
The Baseline Enterprise Architecture represents the current state of the organization, its systems, and its technological infrastructure.
The Target Enterprise Architecture is a design of the architectures of the business, information systems and of IT that the organization should possess in the next three or four years, as it is required in order to meet the objectives set out in their strategic plans. This architecture is designed on the basis of:
(1) the strategic objectives that the company hopes to achieve in the long term; and
(2) the architectural principles that should guide the design of the target architecture.
A migration and implementation plan guides the transition from the baseline state of the enterprise architecture to its target state. This plan organizes and describes the portfolio of projects, as well as the activities, schedule, and resources that are required to make the transition between the two mentioned states.
IT Management and Enterprise Architectures
IT Management is a managerial process through which an organization plans, develops, operates, and constantly improves its enterprise architecture, with the objective of providing the IT services that the organization requires.
One of the most important objectives of the IT Management is to achieve a high degree of alignment between business and IT. IT managers must therefore ensure that the information systems, and the IT platform on which these systems operate, provide the effective support that business processes demand for achieving the strategic objectives of the organization, as established in the business plans.
In order to achieve effectively this objective, EA must become the focus of attention of IT managers and CIOs. IT Management must be centered on managing the enterprise architecture.
In the next sections, we describe an IT process model that is based on the close relationship that must exist between EA and IT Management.