Ecosystem Architecture is making us rethink Enterprise Architecture
From the archive: written before or outside the Architect Tomorrow newsletter, so it may be out of date.
Organisations need Architectural thinking beyond their organisational boundaries. Much like how security thinking has moved on; the days of Enterprise Architecture taking a castle and moat approach are over.
Why?
- Digital Transformation — In order to remain relevant and mitigate the risks of disruption by new technology, new entrants to your market etc
- Platform Business, Aggregator models and other emerging business architecture trends
- API Economy — the opportunity to monetise your data, processes and Intellectual Property
- Agility — delivering capability through consuming supplier and partner APIs and integration channels
- Blockchain and resulting ecosystem changes that may affect the fundamentals of markets and industry verticals
- CommoditisationandCloud — the shift to the cloud and SaaS (Software as a Service) means that your own IT (Data centres, Servers, Applications) are no longer the main focus or within your full control and ownership
- Orchestration over development — the re-use and integration of existing capabilities from across the ecosystem using configurable orchestration will reduce the need for bespoke development.
- IT Vendor direction: Having spent time at both the Mulesoft and Axway summits recently it seems clear that API platform providers see things going in this direction.
“What are you talking about EA has always had an Ecosystem?! We have an ecosystem of suppliers?”
Whilst traditional EA has absolutely often dealt with Vendor relationships and helped with procurement — this has tended to be more about the classic client — supplier type relationship. Whereas what I am talking about is more about building partner or co-creation type relationships. So the platform business model, exploiting and orchestrating APIs to build services — not so much about the fact that we’ve built on premise solutions using 3rd party products.
This post was partly inspired but a thread on the classic topic of “Is Enterprise Architecture Dead?” I think the answer is that as long as it moves beyond internal IT castle and moat thinking and embraces ecosystem thinking then it isn’t dead. If it remains sat in the internal IT function just concerning itself with standards and governance then yes ultimately it will be displaced by other roles. The discipline of Enterprise Architecture won’t go away but the latest buzzword for it (and how it is resourced and delivered) will of course change.
What are your thoughts — did I miss a driver? Do you think the role will split along business / ecosystem and technical / IT lines? Do you think this has already happened?
A reminder that these are my own thoughts rather than official views of my current or any previous employer. You might also like my other posts on the topic of Innovation Architecture. You can also find this and other posts on Medium.
Originally published on LinkedIn. Comments and discussion live there.