Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Main references:
Col Perks, Tony Beveridge, Guide to Enterprise IT
Architecture, Springer, 2003
Kalani Hausman, Susan L Cook, IT Architecture for Dummies,
Wiley Publishing, 2011
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Outline
Introduction
Real-World IT Problems
Influencing Factors
Problem Matrix
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Summary
All IT groups will experience problems with IT. These may be
related to a lack of integration between business strategy
and technical implementation, problems with an ailing
infrastructure, problems trying to integrate incompatible
technologies, major security issues, or the perennial issue of
controlling IT costs.
An holistic issue is that the rise of the Internet channel has
worsen the problems.
We believe that all of the problems described here are
symptomatic of the lack of an (or an ineffective) architectural
approach to technology.
In the rest of this book, we present a framework for
architecting an organizations IT environment. Our goal
is to demonstrate how the approach presented here can
actively aid the resolution of the problems described in this
chapter.
We begin this journey by positioning technology architecture
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with respect to other strategic-planning processes.
Introduction
In no organization is the operation of IT perfect.
Although not all problems are solvable using architectural
disciplines, a pragmatic approach is to isolate key issues and
concentrate effort on their solution
Organizational IT problems are products of a number of key
factors:
Technology environment
IT organizational structure
Capability
Industry
Management philosophy
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Problem Matrix
This sections summarize ten real-world IT problems that
can be mitigated by adopting an architectural approach.
The aim here is to provide the reader with a list of actual
problems we have experienced within IT organizations (with
names changed to protect the innocent, of course)
1. The Business / Technical Strategy Gulf
2. The Information Inaccuracy and Integrity Problem
3. Security Problems
4. Infrastructure Hell
5. The Problem of Incompatible Technologies
6. The Cost Problem
7. Technology Anarchy
8. The Problem with the Ongoing Systems Management of
IT
9. The Problem with Procurement
10. The Collapsing Event Horizon
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Infrastructure Hell
Problem summary: The tactical manner in which some
infrastructure technologies are provided inhibit the ability of
the IT environment to cooperate as a whole.
Technical architecture to the rescue: The technical
architecture focuses directly on ensuring the
effectiveness of the technology environment and
supports its continuing health through governance
processes.
Example:
Real time ERP application will be very difficult to
implement at places with internet low bandwidth
capabilities
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Technology Anarchy
Problem summary: Individuals hold the technology
vision for the organizationwhen they leave, everything
changes.
Technical architecture to the rescue: The technical
architecture comprises a governance process to ensures
that the IT environment is owned and championed by
the organization, not the individual.
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Technology Anarchy
Things that introduced anarchy:
Technical advocates leave the organization, resulting in a
feeding frenzy as new roles and responsibilities are fought
for. This results in dramatic technology changes as
advocates in new areas are established.
Common IT processes, such as tendering, can be enacted
a random nature to technology selection.
Technology vendors can continually remodel their
products and services causing confusion, tactical decisionmaking, and a reliance on technology du jour by
organizations.
Autonomous business units make purchasing decisions
that make sense for them but not for the IT environment
in general.
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Organizations must understand the concept of architectural governancethe ongoing quality management of the technical environment.
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Outline
Introduction
Real-World IT Problems
Influencing Factors
Problem Matrix
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