Enterprise Architecture - Essay Example

Enterprise ArchitectureIntroduction The development of enterprise architecture is revolutionizing the business industry. Organizations are adopting this to improve their performance and make their work effective and more efficient. This applies best to very large organization that handle a lot of work volume. This has brought about many complexities for the normal system, mostly because of the different platforms that exist (Saha, 2007). To effectively manage these complexities that come with large volumes of data, the enterprise architecture is implemented.

It merges the information system with the business aspect of it. This leads to the significant reduction of operation costs. A case study of an organization that successfully implemented the framework was done. The reasons for this implementation were analyzed and observations on how to make it were done. Sygenta was used as the case study. Before the enterprise architecture is implemented a strategic analysis is done. This creates the basis for its adoption. Analysis In the strategic basis of implementation, one of the first things to consider is the mission statement.

A mission statement is a motto or theme, which is usually the first basis that is set. The mission statement gives the people involved in the project a general idea of what is to be achieved (Saha, 2007). Once the mission statement has been decided upon, other aspects can follow. The statement gives hope to employees and also shows where the organization is headed. After the identifying the mission statement, the objectives for the implementation process are laid out. The objectives or goals are what the organization wants to achieve when undertaking the implementation process.

The objectives are sometimes the problems faced by the organizations’ current system. The evaluation of these problems is what usually determines what the organization will do. Due to the problems faced by the organization, the objectives tend to be challenging, but they should always be achievable (Saha, 2007). If possible, they should be set in a way that progress can be monitored and this can be done, for example, by setting milestones. With the monitoring of milestones or process in general, it is easier to correct mistakes that are made during implementation as opposed to correcting the errors at the end.

This also reduces chances of mistakes that will arise as a result of previous errors, making it even harder to correct them. Once the objectives have been laid out, the organization has to do a situational analysis of the factors that affect it and determine how to reach the objectives. There is no specific set of steps that will always guarantee the fulfillment of all the objectives. Since all organizations are faced with different kinds of external environmental factors and different internal factors, careful analysis has to be done.

Sometimes, the external factors help the organization in achieving some of the objectives it has set. Due to this possibility, a survey of the environment is usually done. The strengths and opportunities that can help achieve some of the objectives are noted. External factors are in the form of macro and micro. The internal factors are basically what make up the organization’s profile. These include their culture, their image, and their key staff among others. With all these factors present, a SWOT analysis is then performed, to clearly lay out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Saha, 2007).

After situation analysis, strategy formulation now goes into motion. This involves coming up with ways to achieve the objectives, due to different priorities in objectives set. They are organized according to their importance. This, like in the case study, involved setting up an efficient information system and linking it with the business system. The formulation of strategy is a very essential part in the strategic basis of implementation. Once the application has become a success, monitoring controls should be set up.

This will check on the performance and also actions are set up to ensure success. There should also be a mechanism for dynamic processes. This will need to be done repeatedly to adapt to the system.Conclusion From the analysis done and compared to the information from the case study, some very effective ways of strategy were discussed. The application of some of these methods should guarantee success, or some form of it. Although due to the diverse nature of systems and problems that they encounter, variants of these methods can be used.

They seem to vary with the problem. An independent analysis should be done, on the internal and external factors to determine the right methods to use. It is also very important to note that following up after implementation is very necessary, it ensures that the system is working correctly. This not only ensures success but makes sure that the level of success is maintained. ReferencesSaha, P. (2007). Handbook of Enterprise System Architecture in Practice. New York: Idea Group Inc..