Enterprise Architecture and ITIL

2005

Enterprise architects seek to align enterprise processes and structure with their supporting IT systems so that enterprises can flourish in their environment. The enterprise architecture (EA) discipline has emerged from business best practices. EA frameworks are therefore mostly informal. As a result there is a lack of EA tools that can help enterprise architects to check this alignment. Most notably, current EA tools do not help enterprise architects to formalize the alignment of the multiple levels that constitute an enterprise model. In this paper we propose an EA framework and an associated tool that provide alignment checking along the functional and organizational hierarchies. We illustrate this approach with the Sun Microsystems industrial example of the Pet Store.

Enterprise architecture has attracted the attention of information systems (IS) academics as well as information technology (IT) and business professionals. While enterprise architecture has been proposed as a solution to the business-IT alignment problem, there is little theoretical basis that would explain how enterprise architecture work can lead to better alignment. Here we draw on the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to highlight the role of enterprise architecture in achieving and sustaining such alignment. Specifically, we argue that enterprise architecture work helps to achieve agreement and thus alignment of the interests of internal actors within the context of enterprise interests and inscribes such agreement into architectural artifacts. Such artifacts can then be used in negotiations with external parties, such as IT vendors, thereby protecting the interests of the enterprise. Enterprise architecture work is also likely to reduce the likelihood of members of the enterprise, such as IT staff, from forming close ties with external parties, such as IT solution vendors, at the expense of the interests of the enterprise. We argue that this would result in stronger business-IT alignment. We conclude by highlighting two important goals of enterprise architecture as viewed through the ANT lens: (1) to help achieve an alignment of interests within the enterprise, and (2) to serve as a tool for protecting the interests of the enterprise in internal and external negotiations. These in turn point to the importance of the soft skills of enterprise architects and the need for clear and readily understandable enterprise architecture artifacts.

Communications

This paper proposes the use of an enterprise architecture methodology known as the Systemic Enterprise Architecture Methodology to determine the relevance of EA in addressing the business-IT alignment. A construct that characterized EA was developed based on review of the literature. A theoretical framework build upon the Systemic Enterprise Architecture Methodology (SEAM) was used based on a business-IT alignment market, in which supplier business systems compete to provide a value to an adopter business system. Data was empirically gathered based on survey respondents who are concerned with the adoption, planning and implementation of EA in their organizations. Respondents were managers and executives representing the IT and senior level management of public and private organizations in Malaysia. The data collected was then analyzed based on the following factors: (1) EA business issues; (2) EA environment; (3) EA governance; and (4) EA methods, tools and frameworks. Comparative analysis was carried out based on the four factors to examine the trend and status of EA adoption and implementation in Malaysia vis-à-vis the international scenario. Statistical analysis was used to validate the SEAM, which was found to be relevant in addressing the business-IT alignment.

Strategic business IT (Information Technology) alignment is one of the main objectives that is achieved from the implementation of Enterprise Architecture (EA) in an organization. EA helps organizations to define architecture of business, information systems and technology that capable for aligning business strategy with IT organizations, through the development of business models, business strategy, business processes and organizations that aligned with infrastructure, applications and IT organizations. A good design of Enterprise Architecture should consider various viewpoints of IT alignment with the organization's business needs. This paper provides a solution how to design Enterprise Architecture which provides guarantee for strategic business IT alignment that is designed through the integration of SAMM component with TOGAF 9.1 metamodel.

2011

The business and Information Technology (IT) alignment issue has become one of the top ten IT management issues since 1980. Since then IT has strived to achieve alignment with business goals and objectives through many efforts. Enterprise Architecture (EA) to provide the foundation of IT in an organization and has been extensively covered in the past two decades with most of the efforts focusing on Technology Architecture, Information Architecture and Application Architecture and less emphasis on Business Architecture (BA). This research developed an approach with supporting methodology to develop a comprehensive BA, and to address and improve business / IT alignment following a qualitative research methodology. The research was based on 1. the proposition that a comprehensive BA is required to enhance Business IT alignment, and 2. that the BA should be developed before the Information Architecture, Application Architecture, and Technical Architecture. The key deliverable of the res...

Nowadays, many organizations are concerned with how successfully they can formulate an information system (IS) strategy. Have them adopted enterprise architecture, they are concerned of how to activate the business and IS decisions. From a functional perspective, enterprise architecture demonstrates how all information technology elements in an organization, systems, processes and people work together as a whole. Hence, enterprise architecture is an approach of aligning the business area of an organization with the IT area. It has become widely recognized that an enterprise architecture plays a key role in influencing the IS strategy formulation. Strategy formulation in enterprises is a continuous process and it is considered an implicit process that is influenced by a set of factors in which enterprise architecture is a major one. In this paper, we discuss that role that an enterprise architecture plays in influencing the IS strategy formulation. Index Terms: Enterprise architecture, Zachman, The Open Group Architecture Framework TOGAF.

2013

Organizations have realized that in order to achieve competitive advantage, IT needs to be strategically aligned with business objectives. To achieve alignment leveraging, Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is considered fundamental as a comprehensive approach to planning and managing IT actions within the organization, based on its business requirements. This survey reports on a study to assess the effect of successful ITIL Framework on the Business-IT alignment in an Iranian organization (municipality IT organization Of Tehran, Iran), using the Luftman's maturity model as the assessment tool and to determine whether there are any significant differences in perspectives of IT and Business Managers on what factors contribute to successful strategic alignment using Henderson and Venkatraman's strategic alignment model as its framework.

2002

This paper discusses the alignment of the enterprise with its Information Systems (IS) from the perspective of policy determinations, past research studies and implications for the future. Policy determinations from the US, UK and Australia are discussed, while past and current alignment research studies are reviewed and contrasted. It is conjectured that where Enterprise Architecture (EA) treatment is not mandated, there may still be a positive role for architecture in the alignment of the enterprise and its IS. Some well known EA frameworks and methods are reviewed and compared as viable alignment vehicles. The paper concludes with implications for future alignment research studies and policy decisions, and outlines a current research program that is investigating the use of enterprise architecture in government agencies for the alignment of business strategy and IS.

2013

Ensuring that IT and business have a more mature alignment relationship is recognized as being critical to an organization’s success. To achieve alignment leveraging, Information Technology Infra-structure Library (ITIL) is considered fundamental as a comprehensive approach to planning and managing IT actions within the organization, based on its business requirements. This survey reports on a study to assess the effect of successful ITIL Framework on the Business-IT alignment in an Iranian organization (municipality IT organization Of Tehran, Iran), using the Luftman’s maturity model as the assessment tool.

2008

The concept of Enterprise Architecture (EA) has long been considered as a means to improve system integration and achieve better IT-business alignment by IT professionals. Recently, the subject gained significant visibility by IS academics. In this paper we provide an overview of existing EA research and practice and present key functions and benefits of EA as seen by IT professionals based on the results of the SIM Information Management Practices Survey. We then identify and discuss directions for future research, including the development of EA definition and nomological net, as well as development of theoretical propositions regarding EA business value.