"And they said, Come, let us make a town, and a tower whose top will go up as high as heaven; and let us make a great name for ourselves, so that we may not be wanderers over the face of the earth." Ge 11:4, And so began the tower of Babel…

What is an Enterprise Architecture (Business Model)?
 

Enterprise Architecture Defined:

     It might seem awkward to begin by defining enterprise architecture; however, given the confusion in the commercial enterprise space with the myriad of conflicting perspectives and definitions made worse by complex technical jargon, it makes sense to begin with this simple definition: an enterprise architecture is a decision support tool and a flexible governing document.

     By analogy, and one that most in the civilized world can relate, enterprise architecture (EA) resembles basic city planning when implemented as a decision support tool, and models a civil constitution when developed as a governing document. Its primary role within an enterprise is to provide insight and governance for decision support to the leadership of disparate lines of businesses, various stakeholders, and organizational support such as information technology (IT) operations, among others.

Enterprise Architecture Objective

     Every enterprise begins with a vision created by either the founder or the core leadership of the enterprise. From the vision onward, it is the EA that shapes the organization's plans and operations. This happens whether or not an enterprise architecture is even formalized.

     The ultimate objective of EA is to provide a tangible structure to the organizations vision, sometimes this structure is known as the 'big animal picture'. The EA, when developed, becomes the framework that enables the vision to become a reality.

        Each enterprise is unique and will produce an architecture that maps to its own personality and business drivers whether a non-profit organization or a large multinational company. Thus, an enterprise architecture is not a technology architecture, nor is it a carbon copy of another business model: it is a decision support tool and governing document that truly reflects the uniqueness of the business and its objectives.

     Of course, developing a definition of EA is only the starting point, and the challenge soon becomes developing the two building blocks of the EA.

Next:  The primary building blocks of the enterprise.

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