In 1884 Sarah Winchester purchased property in Santa Clara County on which she planned to build a mansion. Over the next 38 years, construction on the building continued until it grew into a seven story edifice with 140 rooms, 30 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms and almost 50 fireplaces.
Surprisingly, all of that in itself does not make the building remarkable.
Instead, the building is known for the doors that lead to nowhere, the stairways that end in ceilings or walls. The building reflects the fickle and ever changing whims of its owner as well as the impact of a lack of a guiding architectural design.
For many organizations, there IT systems have grown up in the same way. Solutions are implemented in response to an immediate need, frequently chasing the current “best in class” solution. There is no overriding architecture to guide decisions on selection, development, investment and retirement. The result, like the Winchester House, is an impressive array of systems where the whole actually adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
Enterprise architecture provides an alternative approach. By taking a holistic view of the needs of the business and developing a long term strategy to guide decision making, enterprise architecture aims to avoid the pitfalls of excessive system diversity. A strong architecture design can be understood by business and IT leaders alike; it can adapt to changes in leadership while remaining true to core principles. Most importantly, a small investment in enterprise architecture helps to ensure that in the end, the value of the whole exceeds the cost of the sum of individual components systems.
Surprisingly, all of that in itself does not make the building remarkable.
Instead, the building is known for the doors that lead to nowhere, the stairways that end in ceilings or walls. The building reflects the fickle and ever changing whims of its owner as well as the impact of a lack of a guiding architectural design.
For many organizations, there IT systems have grown up in the same way. Solutions are implemented in response to an immediate need, frequently chasing the current “best in class” solution. There is no overriding architecture to guide decisions on selection, development, investment and retirement. The result, like the Winchester House, is an impressive array of systems where the whole actually adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
Enterprise architecture provides an alternative approach. By taking a holistic view of the needs of the business and developing a long term strategy to guide decision making, enterprise architecture aims to avoid the pitfalls of excessive system diversity. A strong architecture design can be understood by business and IT leaders alike; it can adapt to changes in leadership while remaining true to core principles. Most importantly, a small investment in enterprise architecture helps to ensure that in the end, the value of the whole exceeds the cost of the sum of individual components systems.
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