Enterprise Architecture – Every business needs a Business Portrait

We asked some of our partners to talk about their views on enterprise architecture, here Inspi talk about how they see EA

In 1878 Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (née Hamilton) was widely credited with coining the saying “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. Fast forward to the digital world of business today and the quote still resonates. Why? Because technology has transformed all businesses into a digital business model, and now every business needs a Business Portrait to serve as a common lens or “digital mirror” of the processes and the underlying technology which enable it.

When I think of Enterprise Architecture, my mind “paints a picture” of many invaluable aspects of the Business Portrait which I feel can best be described through a series of questions, each from a different lens. Some of these questions have been highlighted in the table below:

LENS	QUESTIONS	SERVICES & DELIVERABLES	BENEFITS
COMMON LENS	Do I have a single common framework (business capability) which will resonate with business and technology leaders to ensure understanding and alignment.	Definition & delivery of the Business Capability Framework Business Model Operations Model. Ecosystem Model.	Competitive Advantage A “digital mirror” reflective of the business. Responsive and Aligned to Change. Sustainable with Data Certification built in. One Consistent Framework from Strategy, to Execution – Operations, Technology, and Security.
STRATEGY	Can I easily view the capabilities of my business and quickly understand where and how innovation e.g., Artificial Intelligence can help my business to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance the customer experience.	Assessment of the Business Model Business Capability Heat Map Enterprise Roadmap Balanced Scorecard	Adaptability & Alignment- Strategy to Execution End to End Enterprise Assessments of Business and Technology Fit and Performance Investment Planning & Prioritization Management
OPERATIONS	Can I easily view the capabilities of my business and quickly understand which processes are still manual, and or poorly automated?	Assessment of the Operating Model Business Capability Heat Map Business Process Diagrams Alignment of Business Owners with Capabilities	Simplified Operations Identify and automate manual tasks so they can be: Repeat-able Sustain-able Optimize-able
ASSET MANAGEMENT	Can I easily find, and update the people, processes, and tools necessary to sustain and grow the business?	Inventory and Health Assessment of: Applications and their lifecycles Interfaces and the data attributes shared Business Application and Technology Owners	Reduced Expenses Reuse it before you buy it Rationalized Applications Simplified Footprint
COMPLIANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT	Can I quickly respond to a request to identify where regulated data is captured, stored, or transmitted within the enterprise digital ecosystem?	Inventory of: Compliance Attributes associated with business processes, and technology components	Reduced Expenses Compliance Monitoring
REVENUE	Can I conceive of an innovative software solution and bring it to market faster than my competitors?	Inventory of: Reference Architecture Blueprints Reusable IT Components	Competitive Advantage Digital Product Innovation & Market Disruption Simple, Fast and Reusable application delivery

The tricky bit is to capture all these aspects and sustain the accuracy of the data within an easy to use, shared repository. This is Essential.

Inspi Technologies provides technology services to clients across the globe. Inspi has successfully delivered software engineering services to a variety of organizations from small start-ups with big dreams to global enterprises with substantial brands and multiple concurrent business models. We focus on the following primary services offerings:

• Business Portrait: Business Architecture and Capability Modeling
• Assessments: Rationalizing Artificial Intelligence Capability
• EA Tools: Implementation Services
• Enterprise Fractional Services: Enterprise Architecture, and Enterprise Security Services Delivery
• Product Development: Solution Architecture and Software Engineering Services

Through the delivery of our products and services, we seek to empower each client to fulfill their potential by leveraging the limitless efficiencies of technology and encouraging the aligned inspiration of individual purpose. Inspi Technologies – inspired by design.

Related posts

What is Enterprise Architecture?

Is your Enterprise Architecture delivering value?