Attempts to align IT strategy with an abstract business vision or strategy are doomed to failure according to a new report. It says that in order to improve competitiveness, organisations must urgently address the growing dislocation between the business requirements and IT deliverables. This, it says, is directly impacting the enterprise’s ability to make quick, accurate decisions and is causing slow implementation of the IT strategy. The gap between IT capability and business needs cannot be allowed to continue. Instead, the adoption of an end-to-end architectural approach and the development of an enterprise model can help with IT strategy planning and execution.

To successfully adopt Enterprise Architecture there has to be complete buy-in across the entire organisation, with an understanding of the allocation of the roles and responsibilities. Technology and business areas within the enterprise must work together to ensure that the architecture keeps in line with the strategic objectives of the company and adequately reflects the IT services available now and planned for the future.

To provide maximum flexibility, an IT strategy must be developed that is guided by Enterprise Architecture, and which is supported by a services-centric approach, and has its foundation in a common platform. This interlinked approach and use of a layered architecture shields the inherent complexity of the IT environment from users, which, as a consequence, speeds up deployment, lowers the cost of integration, and exploits existing investment in IT applications and infrastructure.

The future direction of IT delivery is moving towards shared services. Therefore, when developing an IT strategy, due consideration must be given to the methods and models likely to be deployed that enable the delivery of IT as a service. When considering how IT will be consumed in organisations the influencing factors include distribution, competence, and flexibility. The impact of these different aspects on an IT strategy focuses attention on what is delivered to whom and when. This may be a combination of different delivery mechanisms to suit the organisation’s specific requirements – in other words the belief is that a one-size-fits-all approach will not be appropriate.

Many architecture modelling solutions have previously failed to meet the needs of an important constituency – the senior business decision-maker. Complex modelling solutions lack a way of presenting a sufficiently abstract and easy-to-change view of the enterprise, especially when it comes to the aggregation and analysis of data relating to architecture, strategy, and operations. Many decision-makers typically turn to the ubiquitous spreadsheet for such capabilities – an approach that is less than ideal, lacking as it does vital elements of control, governance, and collaboration. However, there are indications that Enterprise Architecture is starting to be used as more of a strategic tool by the entire organisation.

The more innovative Enterprise Architecture tools are now able to do comparisons using various different metrics and are developing ways of integrating real-time or near real-time operational data with the architecture, blending the models with interactive components and actions, as well as domain-specific method and content.

Related research: IT Strategy and Architecture – Creating an Enterprise Model to Support IT Strategic Planning