Forrester’s Enterprise Architecture Forum 2008Analysis by Claudia ViegasJuly 29, 2009Extra CreditProf. Peter

In this video speech, Forrester indicates that enterprise architects need to act as “innovators” and “integrators”. EA’s must learn to integrate business practices, business services and information technology. In today’s economy, businesses are looking for ways to streamline process, and increase bottom-line performances in order to keep up with the competition. I agree with Forrester in that Enterprise architects are in a unique position where they can help and IT innovation in order to support various different business initiatives. I like what Forrester inferred that “EAs must be able to articulate business strategy better than their business executives can that they must govern IT implementations to ensure that the enterprise is headed towards its strategic goals.

While researching the subject of Enterprise Architecture I came across the information written by Michael Platt (June 2007) of Microsoft where he talks about the “four points-of-view”:1) the business perspective– which defines the processes and standards by which business operates2) the application perspective – which defines the interactions among the processes and standards used by the organization3) the information perspective – which defines and classifies the raw data (such as document files, databases, images, presentations, and spreadsheets) that the organization requires in order to efficiently operate4) the technology perspective - defines the hardware, operating systems, programming, and networking solutions used by the organization.

According to Michael Platt (June 2007), Enterprise Architecture is a ”conceptual blueprint that defines the structure and operation of an organization and indicates that the intent of an enterprise architecture is to determine how an organization can most effectively achieve its current and future objectives.”

From both Forrester and Platt’s information it is apparent that there various advantages of having an enterprise architecture which 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. Stephen Swoyer (9 June 2009) wrote an article written “Enterprise Architecture in a Tough Economy” in it he indicates that with the economy in crisis, a “steady-as-you-go” approach should be considered by analysts when considering ambitious and costly technology initiatives.

Swoyer (2009) indicated that Gartner Inc. argued that an Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a necessity and not a luxury. EA implementations are costly and (in many cases) yield far from satisfactory results. "CIOs seem to intuitively realize the value that EA can deliver, but we find that many organizations continue to struggle with it," said Anne Lapkin, a research vice president at Gartner, in a statement.

All in all, it appears that all though businesses are dealing with some tough economic times, implementing an Enterprise Architecture will eventually save the company money and position them to be more competitive amongst other companies. Thus I must agree with the fact that EAs are integrators and innovators as it relates to business processes and technology processes combined in order to succeed in this market era and EAs need to be savvy and knowledgeable in both worlds.