I was at an industry forum where the discussions focused on
strategy realization and roadmaps and some of the challenges with digital
strategy execution. While discussing the challenges, many were in agreement
that Business leaders are generally well versed in capabilities of IT, and the
promise of digital tools and techniques.
Strategy realization involves executing on pre-defined
roadmaps, and aligning business processes with appropriate technologies and
platforms. In an earlier blog post, I described the process of reconciling
Architecture Roadmaps across an organization. (link). This involves bringing
together views from across functional and regional domains that coexist along
with Business, Information, Data, Applications and Technology (BIDAT) areas. In
addition to BIDAT, Architects
also need to align across IT Services and digital backbone domains, each with
distinct strategic drivers, business sponsorship and execution strategies. A brief description of each of these along
with some of the implications on EA roadmaps follow.
Enterprise-IT - services for internal consumption
Many large enterprises have moved towards a shared services
model to centrally support systems and processes for business units and
functions that may be globally distributed. IT, along with selected functions
like facilities management, HR, finance and production may be managed within
the shared services organization.
The enterprise-IT in a shared service will be designed to support
internal operations in organizations with thousands or tens of thousands of employees.
. These employees will need consistent processes and systems to support
business operations, sales, support clients, manufacture and distribute goods in
regions across the globe.
The enterprise-IT systems and processes must be continually
supported, enhanced and upgraded. A large ecosystem of Enterprise IT
application vendors with a variety of tools and technologies offer services for
business verticals.
Implication: Senior
executives closely watch the SLAs, metrics and cost of operations of enterprise-IT
platforms and processes. The costs of operations can influence the
organization’s bottomline, and so can productivity gains from transforming some
of the processes and systems.
Digital Backbone
In many organizations, the growth engine is driven by
distinct capabilities or intellectual property aligned with its core competency.
In some organizations, the digital backbone may be called the “engineering” or
“technology” capability. At a manufacturing company, the digital backbone will
include R&D behind design of products and services. For a media company, it
will be the newsroom operations supporting reporters and journalists. At a
petrochemical company, the digital backbone will include innovation that drives
its geo-information, GIS and drilling capabilities.
Systems and processes to manage core competency have evolved
with emerging digital technologies and tools; and these are also likely to be
most impacted by digital disruptors in the marketplace.
The past decade has seen entire industry segments and companies disrupted by digital innovators. Ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft have disrupted taxi services and public transit systems around the world. A decade ago, low cost online-only brokers disrupted full-service brokerages. Similarly, advances in electric vehicle technologies are being watched by the entire transport segment dependent on internal combustion engines - from automobile companies to oil drillers.
Implication: Technologies that enable the digital backbone are generally customized to the organization’s business processes and can be the engine for growth. Transformation of an organization’s digital backbone can impact the top-line, improve market share and sales, and transform its business model.
Architecting in the Enterprise: Impact on roadmaps
In most of the large enterprises I have worked with, there
is a line in the sand when it comes to managing Enterprise-IT services and the
organization's Digital Backbone. The platforms and systems are managed and
operated independently, but there is value in working across the silos.
Many of the tools, technologies and services are interchangeable
across these business units. For instance, a cloud hosting strategy may be
applicable across these BU’s. Similarly, the organization will have a better
negotiating leverage by consolidating licenses for infrastructure, network,
databases and other technology services. Knowledge of Design and development
skills may also be interchangeable across the organizations.
The organization’s culture may dictate the level of
collaboration across enterprise-IT services and the organization's Digital
Backbone. An effective way to bridge the
divide without being constrained by the culture is for technology leaders to
continually reconcile Architecture Roadmaps as described in an earlier post. The
reviews and reconciliation should be consultative, although some aspects - like
external vendor inputs or Technology Debt (link) - may have to be directive.
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