Editing Enterprise architecture

{{Short description|Business function methodology}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
'''Enterprise architecture''' ('''EA''') is a business function concerned with the structures and behaviours of a business, especially business roles and processes that create and use business [[data]]. The international definition according to the Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organizations is "a well-defined practice for conducting [[enterprise (economics)|enterprise]] analysis, design, planning, and implementation, using a comprehensive approach at all times, for the successful development and execution of strategy. Enterprise architecture applies architecture principles and practices to guide organizations through the business, information, process, and [[technology change]]s necessary to execute their strategies. These practices utilize the various aspects of an enterprise to identify, motivate, and achieve these changes."<ref name=feapo>{{cite journal|url=http://feapo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Common-Perspectives-on-Enterprise-Architecture-Final-1-copy.pdf|title=Common Perspectives on Enterprise Architecture|journal=Architecture and Governance Magazine|volume=9|issue=4|date=November 2013|page=1|access-date=2023-03-04}}</ref> 

The [[United States Government|United States Federal Government]] is an example of an organization that practices EA, in this case with its [[Capital Planning and Investment Control]] processes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/E-Gov/ea_success.aspx|title=EA-Success|year=2010|publisher=The White House|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430152712/http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/E-Gov/ea_success.aspx|archive-date=2010-04-30}}</ref> Companies such as [[Independence Blue Cross]], [[Intel]], [[Volkswagen AG]],<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://lawaspect.com/volkswagen-america-managing/|title=Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities|last1=Austin|first1=Robert D.|last2=Ritchie|first2=Warren|last3=Garrett|first3=Greggory|journal=Harvard Business Review|date=2005-10-05}}</ref> and [[InterContinental Hotels Group]] also use EA to improve their business architectures as well as to improve [[business efficiency|business performance]] and [[productivity]]. Additionally, the [[Federal Enterprise Architecture]]'s reference guide aids federal agencies in the development of their architectures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fea_docs/FEA_Practice_Guidance_Nov_2007.pdf|title=FEA Practice Guidance Federal Enterprise Architecture Program Management Office OMB|date=November 2007|publisher=The White House|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016043354/http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fea_docs/FEA_Practice_Guidance_Nov_2007.pdf|archive-date=2010-10-16}}</ref>

==Introduction==
As a discipline, EA "proactively and holistically lead[s] enterprise responses to disruptive forces by identifying and analyzing the execution of change" towards organizational goals. EA gives business and IT leaders recommendations for policy adjustments and provides best strategies to support and enable business development and change within the information systems the business depends on. EA provides a guide for [[decision making]] towards these objectives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/enterprise-architecture-ea/|title=Enterprise Architecture (EA) |publisher=Gartner |access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref> The [[National Computing Centre]]'s EA best practice guidance states that an EA typically "takes the form of a comprehensive set of cohesive models that describe the structure and functions of an enterprise. The individual models in an EA are arranged in a logical manner that provides an ever-increasing level of detail about the enterprise."<ref>{{cite book|last=Jarvis|first=Bob|title=Enterprise Architecture: Understanding the Bigger Picture – A Best Practice Guide for Decision Makers in IT|publisher=The UK National Computing Centre|location=Manchester, England, United Kingdom|page=9|year=2003}}</ref>

Important players within EA include enterprise architects and solutions architects. Enterprise architects are at the top level of the architect hierarchy, meaning they have more responsibilities than solutions architects. While solutions architects focus on their own relevant solutions, enterprise architects focus on solutions for and the impact on the whole organization. Enterprise architects oversee many solution architects and business functions. As practitioners of EA, enterprise architects support an organization's strategic vision by acting to align people, process, and technology decisions with actionable goals and objectives that result in quantifiable improvements toward achieving that vision. The practice of EA "analyzes areas of common activity within or between organizations, where information and other resources are exchanged to guide future states from an integrated viewpoint of strategy, business, and technology."<ref>{{cite web |work=Enterprise Architecture Book of Knowledge|title=Planning an EA – Purpose|url=http://www2.mitre.org/public/eabok/planning_an_ea/purpose.html |publisher=Mitre Corporation |access-date=2014-10-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001215616/http://www2.mitre.org/public/eabok/planning_an_ea/purpose.html|archive-date=2013-10-01}}</ref>

===Definitions===

The term ''enterprise'' can be defined as an [[organizational unit]], [[organization]], or collection of organizations that share a set of common goals and collaborate to provide specific products or services to customers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iiba.org/babok-guide.aspx|title=Business Analysis Body of Knowledge|publisher=International Institute of Business Analysis|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624233443/http://www.iiba.org/babok-guide.aspx|archive-date=2017-06-24}}</ref> In that sense, the term enterprise covers various types of organizations, regardless of their size, ownership model, operational model, or geographical distribution. It includes those organizations' complete [[sociotechnical system]],<ref name="Giachetti">{{cite book|last=Giachett|first=R.E.|title=Design of Enterprise Systems, Theory, Architecture, and Methods|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton, Florida, USA|year=2010}}</ref> including people, information, processes, and technologies. Enterprise as a sociotechnical system defines the scope of EA.

The term ''architecture'' refers to fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment; and embodied in its elements, relationships, and in the principles of its design and evolution.<ref name="ISO42010">{{cite web|url=https://www.iso.org/standard/50508.html|title=ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011: Systems and software engineering — Architecture description|date=2011-11-24|publisher=International Organization for Standardization|access-date=2023-03-04}}</ref> A methodology for developing and using architecture to guide the [[Business transformation|transformation of a business]] from a baseline state to a target state, sometimes through several transition states, is usually known as an [[enterprise architecture framework]]. A framework provides a structured collection of processes, techniques, [[Enterprise architecture artifacts|artifact descriptions]], reference models, and guidance for the production and use of an enterprise-specific architecture description.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Paramount to ''changing'' the EA is the identification of a [[:wikt:sponsor|sponsor]]. Their mission, [[vision (business)|vision]], strategy, and the governance framework define all roles, responsibilities, and relationships involved in the anticipated transformation. Changes considered by enterprise architects typically include innovations in the structure or processes of an organization; innovations in the use of information systems or technologies; the integration and/or [[standardization]] of business processes; and improvement of the quality and timeliness of business information.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

According to the standard [[ISO/IEC 42010|ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010]],<ref name="ISO42010"/> the product used to describe the architecture of a system is called an ''architectural description''.  In practice, an architectural description contains a variety of lists, tables, and diagrams. These are models known as ''[[View model|views]]''.  In the case of EA, these models describe the logical business functions or capabilities, [[business process]]es, human roles and actors, the physical organization structure, [[data flow]]s and [[data store]]s, [[business application]]s and platform applications, hardware, and communications infrastructure.

The first use of the term "enterprise architecture" is often incorrectly attributed to [[John Zachman]]'s 1987 ''A framework for information systems architecture''.<ref name=zachman>{{cite journal|last=Zachman|first=John A.|title=A framework for information systems architecture.|journal=IBM Systems Journal|edition=reprint|year=1999|volume=38|issue=2/3|pages=454–470|doi=10.1147/sj.382.0454|s2cid=12191060 }}</ref> The first publication to use it was instead a [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|National Institute of Standards]] (NIST) Special Publication<ref name="NIST SP 500-167">{{cite journal|last=Fong|first=E. N.|author2=Goldfine, E.H.|title=Information management directions: the integration challenge.|journal=SIGMOD Record|date=December 1989|volume= 18|issue= 4|pages=40–43|url=http://www.itl.nist.gov/lab/specpubs/NIST%20SP%20500-167.pdf|doi=10.1145/74120.74125|s2cid=23939840}}</ref> on the challenges of information system integration.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} The NIST article describes EA as consisting of several levels. [[Business architecture|Business unit architecture]] is the top level and might be a total corporate entity or a sub-unit. It establishes for the whole organization necessary frameworks for "satisfying both internal information needs" as well as the needs of external entities, which include [[Cooperate|cooperating organizations]], [[customers]], and [[Government agency|federal agencies]]. The lower levels of the EA that provide information to higher levels are more attentive to detail on behalf of their superiors. In addition to this structure, business unit architecture establishes [[Technical standard|standards]], [[policies]], and [[procedure (business)|procedure]]s that either enhance or stymie the organization's mission.<ref name="NIST SP 500-167"/>

The main difference between these two definitions is that Zachman's concept was the creation of individual information systems optimized for business, while NIST's described the management of all information systems within a business unit. The definitions in both publications, however, agreed that due to the "increasing size and complexity of the [i]mplementations of [i]nformation systems... logical construct[s] (or architecture) for defining and controlling the interfaces and... [i]ntegration of all the components of a system" is necessary. Zachman in particular urged for a "[[strategic planning]] [[methodology]]."<ref name=zachman/>

==Overview==
===Schools of thought===
Within the field of enterprise architecture, there are three overarching schools: Enterprise IT Design, Enterprise Integrating, and Enterprise Ecosystem Adaption. Which school one subscribes to will impact how they see the EA's purpose and scope, as well as the means of achieving it, the skills needed to conduct it, and the locus of responsibility for conducting it.<ref name="Lapalme">{{cite journal|last=Lapalme|first=J.|title=Three Schools of Thought on Enterprise Architecture|journal=IT Professional|volume=14|number=6|pages=37–43|date=November 2012|doi=10.1109/MITP.2011.109|s2cid=206469705 }}</ref>

Under Enterprise IT Design, the main purpose of EA is to guide the process of planning and designing an enterprise's [[Information technology|IT]]/[[Information science|IS]] capabilities to meet the desired organizational objectives, often by greater alignment between IT/IS and business concerns. Architecture proposals and decisions are limited to the IT/IS aspects of the enterprise and other aspects service only as inputs. The Enterprise Integrating school believes that the purpose of EA is to create a greater coherency between the various concerns of an enterprise (HR, IT, Operations, etc.), including the link between strategy formulation and execution. Architecture proposals and decisions here encompass all aspects of the enterprise. The Enterprise Ecosystem Adaption school states that the purpose of EA is to foster and maintain the learning capabilities of enterprises so they may be sustainable. Consequently, a great deal of emphasis is put on improving the capabilities of the enterprise to improve itself, to innovate, and to coevolve with its environment. Typically, proposals and decisions encompass both the enterprise and its environment.

===Benefits, challenges, and criticisms===
The benefits of EA are achieved through its direct and indirect contributions to organizational goals.<ref>{{cite report|author1=Vasilis Boucharas|author2=Marlies van Steenbergen|author3=Slinger Jansen|author4=Sjaak Brinkkemper|title=The Contribution of Enterprise Architecture to the Achievement of Organizational Goals: Establishing the Enterprise Architecture Benefits Framework, Technical Report|publisher=Department of Information and Computing Sciences at Utrecht University|location=Utrecht, The Netherlands|url=http://www.cs.uu.nl/research/techreps/repo/CS-2010/2010-014.pdf|access-date=November 29, 2014|archive-date=July 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704121626/http://www.cs.uu.nl/research/techreps/repo/CS-2010/2010-014.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Notable benefits include support in the areas related to design and re-design of the organizational structures during mergers, acquisitions, or general organizational change;<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Effects of an architectural approach to the implementation of shared service centers|author1=Bert Arnold|author2=Martin Op 't Land|author-link2=Martin Op 't Land|author3=Jan Dietz|author-link3=Jan Dietz|title=Financecom05: Second international workshop on Enterprise, applications and services in the finance industry|editor1=Fethi Rabhi|editor2=Daniel Veit|editor3=Christof Weinhardt|year=2005|publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|location=Regensburg, Germany}}</ref><ref name=schekkerman>{{cite report|title=Trends in enterprise architecture 2005: How are organizations progressing?|publisher=Institute For Enterprise Architecture Developments|url=https://silo.tips/download/trends-in-enterprise-architecture|last=Schekkerman|first=Jaap|author-link=Jaap Schekkerman|page=33}}</ref><ref name=bucher>{{cite report|title=Enterprise architecture analysis and application: An exploratory study|last1=Bucher|first1=T.|last2=Fischer|first2=R.|last3=Kurpjuweit|first3=S.|last4=Winter|first4=Robert|author-link4=Robert Winter (business theorist)|publisher=EDOC Workshop TEAR|location=Hong Kong, China|year=2006}}</ref><ref name=nilsson>{{cite report|title=Management of technochange in an interorganizational E-government project|publisher=Proceedings of the 41st Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences|last=Nilsson|first=Andreas|year=2008|page=209}}</ref> enforcement of discipline and business process standardization, and enablement of process consolidation, reuse, and [[Process integration|integration]];<ref name=varnus>{{cite report|title=TOGAF 9 enterprise architecture survey results|last1=Varnus|first1=J.|last2=Panaich|first2=N.|publisher=23rd Enterprise Architecture Practitioners Conference|url=http://opengroup.org/public/member/proceedings/q309/q309a/Presentations/pl-varnus-panaich.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.opengroup.org/public/member/proceedings/q309/q309a/Presentations/pl-varnus-panaich.pdf|date=2009-07-20|archive-date=2009-07-20}}</ref><ref name=rossweill>{{cite report|title=Understanding the benefits of enterprise architecture|last1=Ross|first1=J.W.|last2=Weill|first2=P.|year=2005|publisher=CISR Research Briefings|volume=V|number=2B}}</ref> support for investment decision-making and work prioritization;<ref name=schekkerman/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Quartel |first1=Dick |last2=Steen |first2=Maarten W.A. |last3=Lankhorst |first3=Marc M. |date=2012-05-01 |title=Application and project portfolio valuation using enterprise architecture and business requirements modelling |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/17517575.2011.625571 |journal=Enterprise Information Systems |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=189–213 |doi=10.1080/17517575.2011.625571 |bibcode=2012EntIS...6..189Q |s2cid=28199240 |issn=1751-7575}}</ref><ref name=bucher/> enhancement of collaboration and communication between [[project stakeholder]]s and contribution to efficient [[Scope (project management)|project scoping]] and to defining more complete and consistent project [[deliverables]]s;<ref name=nilsson/><ref name=varnus/> and an increase in the timeliness of [[requirements elicitation]] and the accuracy of requirement definitions through publishing of the EA documentation.<ref>{{cite report|chapter=Architecture-driven requirements engineering|last1=Engelsman|first1=W.|last2=Iacob|first2=M.E.|last3=Franken|first3=H.M.|last4=Jonkers|first4=J.|title=Advances in Enterprise Engineering II |series=Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing |publisher=Proceedings of the 2009 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing|location=Honolulu, Hawaii, USA|year=2009|volume=28 |pages=285–286|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-01859-6_8|isbn=978-3-642-01858-9 }}</ref>

Other benefits include contribution to [[Optimal design|optimal system designs]] and efficient resource allocation during system development and testing;<ref name=schekkerman/><ref name=bucher/> enforcement of discipline and standardization of IT planning activities and contribution to a reduction in time for technology-related decision making;<ref name=bucher/><ref name=rossweill/> reduction of the system's implementation and operational costs, and minimization of replicate infrastructure services across business units;<ref name=rossweill/><ref name=kappelman>{{cite report|title=Enterprise Architecture: Charting the Territory for Academic Research|last1=Kappelman|first1=Leon|last2=McGinnis|first2=Tom|last3=Pettite|first3=Alex|last4=Sidorova|first4=Anna|year=2008|publisher=AMCIS 2008 Proceedings|url=https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2008/162/}}</ref> reduction in IT complexity, consolidation of data and applications, and improvement of [[interoperability]] of the systems;<ref name=varnus/><ref name=rossweill/><ref name=kappelman/> more [[open-closed principle|open]] and [[responsiveness|responsive]] IT as reflected through increased accessibility of data for [[regulatory compliance]], and increased transparency of infrastructure changes;<ref name=rossweill/><ref>{{cite journal|title=Managing information security in a business network of machinery maintenance services business - Enterprise architecture as a coordination tool|last1=Pulkkinen|first1=M.|last2=Luostarinen|first2=K.|last3=Naumenko|first3=A.|journal=Journal of Systems and Software|volume=80|issue=10|pages=1607–1620|year=2007|doi=10.1016/j.jss.2007.01.044}}</ref> and a reduction of [[business risks]] from system failures and security breaches. EA also helps reduce risks of project delivery.<ref name=rossweill/><ref>{{cite report|title=Enterprise architecture expands its role in strategic business transformation: Infosys enterprise architecture survey 2008/2009|last1=Obitz|first1=T.|last2=Babu|first2=M.K.|publisher=Infosys|year=2009}}</ref> Establishing EA as an accepted, recognized, functionally integrated and fully involved concept at operational and tactical levels is one of the biggest challenges facing Enterprise Architects today and one of the main reasons why many EA initiatives fail.<ref>{{cite journal|title=FEAMI: A Methodology to include and to integrate Enterprise Architecture Processes into Existing Organizational Processes|last=Dedic|first=N.|year=2020|journal=IEEE Engineering Management Review|volume=48|issue=4|pages=160–166 |doi=10.1109/EMR.2020.3031968|s2cid=226351029 }}</ref> 

A key concern about EA has been the difficulty in arriving at [[Performance indicator|metrics of success]] because of the broad-brush and often opaque nature of EA projects.<ref>{{cite thesis|title=Measuring Enterprise Architecture Effectiveness: A Focus on Key Performance Indicators|last=Günther|first=Wendy Arianne|date=August 2014|url=http://liacs.leidenuniv.nl/assets/Masterscripties/ICTiB/Gunther-Wendy-non-confidential.pdf|type=Master's thesis|publisher=Universiteit Leiden|access-date=2023-03-04}}</ref> Additionally, there have been a number of reports, including those written by [[Ivar Jacobson]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.ivarjacobson.com/ea-failed-big-way/|title=EA Failed Big Way!|last=Jacobson|first=Ivar|author-link=Ivar Jacobson|date=2007-10-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401150639/http://blog.ivarjacobson.com/ea-failed-big-way/|archive-date=2016-04-01}}</ref> [[Gartner]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=498188&tab=overview|title=Gartner Enterprise Architecture Summit: Architecting the Agile Organization, 26 – 27 September 2007|publisher=Gartner|year=2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806135856/http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=498188&tab=overview|archive-date=2007-08-06}}</ref> [[Erasmus University Rotterdam]] and [[IDS Scheer]],<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.computerworld.com.au/whitepaper/370709/why-two-thirds-of-enterprise-architecture-projects-fail/?type=other&arg=0&location=art_related|title=Why Two Thirds of Enterprise Architecture Projects Fail|last1=Roeleven|first1=S.|last2=Broer|first2=J.|year=2010|publisher=ARIS|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113181849/http://www.computerworld.com.au/whitepaper/370709/why-two-thirds-of-enterprise-architecture-projects-fail/?type=other&arg=0&location=art_related|archive-date=2013-11-13}}</ref> [[Dion Hinchcliffe]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/enterprise/2009/09/fixing_enterprise_architecture.php|title=Fixing Enterprise Architecture: Balancing the Forces of Change in the Modern Organization|last=Hinchcliffe|first=Dion|date=2009-09-03|publisher=ebiz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906013021/http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/enterprise/2009/09/fixing_enterprise_architecture.php|archive-date=2009-09-06}}</ref> and [[Stanley Gaver]],<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.ech-bpm.ch/sites/default/files/articles/why_doesnt_the_federal_enterprise_architecture_work.pdf|title=Why Doesn't the FEA Work?|last=Gaver|first=Stanley|publisher=Technology Matters, Inc.|year=2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611170127/http://www.ech-bpm.ch/sites/default/files/articles/why_doesnt_the_federal_enterprise_architecture_work.pdf|archive-date=2016-06-11}}</ref> that argue that the frequent failure of EA initiatives makes the concept not worth the effort and that the methodology will fade out quickly.

==Relationship to other disciplines==
According to the Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organizations (FEAPO), EA interacts with a wide array of other disciplines commonly found in business settings such as [[performance engineering]] and [[performance management|management]], [[process engineering]] and [[Process management (project management)|management]], [[IT portfolio management|IT]] and [[Enterprise project management|enterprise portfolio management]], [[Governance, risk management, and compliance|governance and compliance]], IT strategic planning, [[risk analysis]], [[information management]], [[metadata management]], [[organization development]], [[design thinking]], [[systems thinking]], and [[user experience design]].<ref name=feapo/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.forrester.com/clay_richardson/13-04-12-design_thinking_reshapes_ea_for_dynamic_business|title=Design Thinking Reshapes EA For Dynamic Business|date=2013-04-12|publisher=Forrester|last=Richardson|first=Clay|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419011441/http://blogs.forrester.com/clay_richardson/13-04-12-design_thinking_reshapes_ea_for_dynamic_business|archive-date=2013-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/gartner-urges-more-design-thinking-to-break-enterprise-architecture-out-of-its-silo/|title=Gartner urges more 'design thinking' to break enterprise architecture out of its silo|last=McKendrick|first=Joe|date=2010-05-19|publisher=ZDNet|access-date=2023-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.forrester.com/information_management/2010/02/who-owns-information-architecture-all-of-us.html|title=Who Owns Information Architecture? All Of Us.|last=Owens|first=Leslie|date=2010-02-02|publisher=Forrester|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205132536/http://blogs.forrester.com/information_management/2010/02/who-owns-information-architecture-all-of-us.html|archive-date=2010-02-05}}</ref> The EA of an organization is too complex and extensive to document in its entirety, so [[knowledge management]] techniques provide a way to explore and analyze these hidden, tacit, or implicit areas. In return, EA provides a way of documenting the components of an organization and their interaction in a systemic and holistic way that complements knowledge management.<ref>{{cite book|title=Information First - Integrating Knowledge and Information Architecture for Business Advantage|last1=Evernden|first1=Elaine|last2=Evernden|first2=Roger|author2-link=Roger Evernden|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann|location=Oxford, England, UK|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7506-5858-4}}</ref>

In various venues,<ref>{{cite web|title=Service Oriented Architecture : SOA and Enterprise Architecture|url=http://www.opengroup.org/soa/source-book/soa/soa_ea.htm|publisher=The Open Group|access-date=December 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110073815/http://www.opengroup.org/soa/source-book/soa/soa_ea.htm|archive-date=January 10, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> EA has been discussed as having a relationship with [[Service Oriented Architecture]] (SOA), a particular style of application integration. Research points to EA promoting the use of SOA as an enterprise-wide integration pattern.<ref>{{cite report|title=The Role of Service Oriented Architecture as an enabler for Enterprise Architecture|last1=Kistasamy|first1=Christopher|last2=van der Merwe|first2=Alta|last3=de la Harpe|first3=Andre|year=2012|publisher=AMCIS 2012 Proceedings|location=Seattle, Washington, USA|url=https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2012/proceedings/EnterpriseSystems/4/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/soa/rosa-sampaio-soa-gov-2080776.html|title=SOA Governance Through Enterprise Architecture|last1=Rosa|first1=Manuel|last2=de Oliveira Sampaio|first2=André|date=December 2013|publisher=Oracle|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219030125/http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/soa/rosa-sampaio-soa-gov-2080776.html|archive-date=2013-12-19}}</ref> The broad reach of EA has resulted in this business role being included in the [[information technology governance]] processes of many organizations. Analyst firm Real Story Group suggested that EA and the emerging concept of the [[digital workplace]] are "two sides to the same coin."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realstorygroup.com/Blog/2311-Digital-workplace-and-enterprise-architecture-two-sides-to-same-coin|title=Digital workplace and enterprise architecture -- two sides to same coin|last=Byrne|first=Tony|date=2012-03-19|publisher=Real Story Group|access-date=2023-03-04}}</ref> The Cutter Consortium described EA as an information and knowledge-based discipline.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cutter.com/article/dealing-too-much-data-architectural-perspective-469106|title=Dealing with Too Much Data from an Architectural Perspective|last=Evernden|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Evernden|date=2012-11-13|publisher=Cutter|access-date=2023-03-04}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Enterprise architecture artifacts]]
* [[Enterprise architecture framework]]
* [[Architectural pattern (computer science)]]
* [[Architecture of Integrated Information Systems]]
* [[Architecture of Interoperable Information Systems]]
* [[Architecture domain]]
* [[John Zachman]], promoter of enterprise architecture
* [[service-oriented modeling#Service-oriented modeling framework|Enterprise Architecture Service Life Cycle - SOMF]]

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120723011042/http://dcmo.defense.gov/products-and-services/business-enterprise-architecture/ United States Department of Defense definition of EA] (archive)
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Information science]]
[[Category:Systems engineering]]