IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment

This article discusses the concept of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and its importance in aligning information systems with business objectives. It covers policies and processes involved in EA, communication between stakeholders, and the consequences and impacts of EA processes. The article also highlights the differences between IS and EA and components that need further research.

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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
Enterprise Architecture (EA)
4/28/2018

IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Problem Statement......................................................................................................................................2
Policies & Processes....................................................................................................................................2
Comparison between IS & EA....................................................................................................................5
Findings.......................................................................................................................................................6
Components that Need Further Research.................................................................................................6
Consequences & Impacts of EA Processes..............................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
Introduction
There are a variety of Information Systems (IS) that are used and implemented in a business
organization. These systems need to be adequately configured, integrated, and implemented to
achieve the best results out of the same. Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a concept that allows the
enterprises to strategically plan and align the information systems and applications with the
business objectives. The main objective of EA is to present the guidelines that can be
implemented by an enterprise so that it may achieve the business goals and objectives. It leads to
quick decision making processes and also streamlines all of the business operations (Rajabi,
Minaei & Seyyedi, 2013). Enterprise Architects are the resources that are responsible for
implementing and managing EA and these resources shall have communication with the fellow
operators and team members.
Problem Statement
The problem with the information systems in an organization is the integration of varied systems
and applications with each other along with the issues of data and information management.
There are numerous security risks and attacks that emerge because of the loosely integrated
systems that are not configured properly. Also, the organizations fail to analyze the information
systems that are required by them and implement the ones that are not relevant. It leads to
increase in costs and budget of the organization (Bergvall-Kareborn & Howcroft, 2014).
Enterprise Architecture is a concept that addresses all of such issues that are associated with the
information systems installed in an organization.
Policies & Processes
Enterprise Architecture amalgamates the description of the best applications, strategies,
technologies, and procedures that an organization shall implement along with the integration
mechanism between these elements. The current organization has defined a modeling language
as a standard for all the units of the organization so that coherent architecture is put in place.
There are specific complexities that are associated with each of the information system and
application that is installed in an enterprise. The modeling language and foundations assist in the
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
resolution of such issues. EA models ensure that the integration between the components is
adequately done and the relationship is also covered well. The architectural practices and
processes are highlighted as an outcome (Kappelman & Zachman, 2013).
Communication between the information systems installed in an organization is a significant
need to achieve the benefits. Also, it is required that the internal and external stakeholders along
with all of the resources engaged with an enterprise maintain enhanced communication levels
with each other. The organization has implemented communication strategies and methods as a
part of EA to strengthen the communication between the resources and stakeholders. There are
architectural models that have been implemented to manage the current activities and assess the
future events for detailed analysis. There are as-is and to-be scenarios developed for this purpose
(Lankhorst et al., 2005).
Stakeholders are the entities that are associated with a business organization implicitly or
explicitly. The primary goal of an EA is to ensure that the needs of all the stakeholders are met
and the engagement and satisfaction levels are enhanced. The information systems that are
implemented in an enterprise are done with an objective to fulfill the customer and stakeholder
needs (Iyamu, 2017). The Enterprise Architects and the stakeholders connect with each other to
determine the scope of each of these systems. The absence of the same will lead to poorly
defined scope and deteriorated satisfaction levels of the customers as well as stakeholders. The
organization has defined a number of different viewpoints so that the social relationship between
the stakeholders and the architects is defined adequately (Rozanski & Woods, 2007).
 Functional Viewpoints: The functional requirements and aspects of all the information
systems that need to be present in an EA are targeted and are mapped with specific
stakeholders and architects.
 Information Viewpoint: Each of the information system that is configured for an
enterprise comprises of the data and information sets of varied structures and types. There
are specific methods and procedures that are implemented to handle such varied sets and
are covered in this viewpoint.
 Concurrency Viewpoint: The concurrently occurring processes and methods are targeted
under this viewpoint.
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
 Development Viewpoint: The development of one information system is different from
the other and it depends largely upon the development methodology that is used. The
viewpoint includes the varied developmental methods and tasks that are carried out for
the information systems that are present in an EA.
 Deployment Viewpoint: The environment which will be used for the deployment of the
IS and EA are included in this category.
 Operational Viewpoint: There are a variety of operational tasks and activities that are
associated with each of the information systems and the same are targeted upon in this
viewpoint.
The viewpoints that have been listed are then mapped with the architectural perspectives and the
association and relationships are drawn out as a result. The assessment of the requirements and
needs of the stakeholders and the end-users is done with the definition of the functional
specifications, scalability needs, system capabilities and qualities. The demands of the
stakeholders and the users may vary constant and it is therefore necessary to ensure that the
system flexibility and scalability is always maintained. There may also be other issues that may
be involved in the modification of the system aspects (Kotusev, 2017). For instance, the
increased development time associated with the information systems may lead to the change in
the system scope along with the modifications in the architectural design and principles. The
demand of each of the information system also varies in terms of the architecture, environment,
technical requirements etc. For example, one of the information systems may perform better in
isolation while there may be other system that may require enhanced level of integration. EA
ensures that the adequate functional structure and design is prepared and implemented for each
of the systems and the viewpoints of each are also defined clearly (Pirta & Grabis, 2015).
Adequate management is one of the necessary activities that play a significant role in the
information systems as well in the Enterprise Architecture. There has been a lot of research that
has been carried out in the management aspect of IS and EA. However, a common understanding
has not been achieved yet. There are practically oriented research methodologies that have been
defined to integrate the management tasks with the architectural, technical, and functional
aspects of the systems. The development of such a theory is not sufficient. It is necessary to
implement the same as per the feasibility of the system and the organization as whole (Simon et
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
al., 2013). As a result, there are only handfuls of methods that can be actually implemented to
achieve the desired results. The issue of inadequate planning is very popular among the
enterprises as the management does not pay much attention to this particular aspect. However,
planning is a necessary activity that shall be carried out as a mandatory step (Masuda, Shirasaka,
Yamamoto & Hardjono, 2018).
Security is another aspect that has been carefully and adequately planned and implemented in the
EA. There are several risks and attacks to security that have been observed in association with
the IS. This is because there are a number of access points that are present in these information
systems. The access points are utilized by the attackers to give shape to the attacks that adversely
implicate the properties of the information and data sets. The organization ensured that such
security vulnerabilities and loopholes were avoided by closely syncing the systems and their
components with each other (Chesla, 2004). The EA includes advanced security components and
modules at every layer. There are mechanisms, such as access control, authentication,
encryption, intrusions detection, and prevention that are used to prevent and avoid such security
issues (Alshammari, 2017).
Comparison between IS & EA
There are various differences between the information system & its architecture and the
enterprise architecture.
Point of
Difference
IS & its Architecture EA
Scope Specific requirement sets are
addressed
Continuously changing and ambiguous
requirements are addressed
Product The system as a whole is
developed as a product
There are multiple modules and
components developed along with
numerous methods and procedures
Stakeholders System Owner is the sole
stakeholder
There are numerous stakeholders
involved
Lifecycle It ends when the system is
developed and is delivered
The lifecycle continues in a loop and is
for continuous improvement
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
Governance Limited governance Enhanced level of governance
Findings
There are a number of different viewpoints and aspects that are associated with Information
Systems, associated strategies, and Enterprise Architecture.
In most of the research works and activities, the main focus is laid on the complete technical
infrastructure and the modeling frameworks that are involved. As a result, the communication
and relationship between the parties and the stakeholders is developed. The other works of
research have focused on the stakeholders and their requirements. It has been stated that the
stakeholder requirements shall be kept high on priority (Malta & Sousa, 2016).
Some of the research works and journals state that the planning and communication activities
shall be considered as top priority while designing EA and IS. The decision-making activities are
also taken accordingly.
Components that Need Further Research
There are certain areas that have not been completely explored by the researchers so far. The
ethical aspect of the social relationships and engagement between the different stakeholders,
architects, and resources is not covered. The researchers have mainly focused on the architectural
models and structures, effective communication, effective planning and viewpoints are the main
areas that are primarily covered. The ethical aspect is not covered well (Sasa & Krisper, 2011).
Enterprise Architecture has been depicted as an amalgamated unit of various modules that and
combined together in one framework. The above sections also provide details on the specific
architectural requirements and functioning information (Shah & Kourdi, 2007). The specific
needs of all the individual entities associated with the information systems and the EA shall also
be addressed so that the specific objectives can be attained. The research articles, journals, and
papers do not lay emphasis on the ethical professional codes that shall be complied with and
reflected in the process.
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
Consequences & Impacts of EA Processes
The research works that have been analyzed and references consider social relationship and
communication between the stakeholders and the architects as a prime necessity. There are
several advantages that are provided to the business organizations as a result of the development
and implementation of strong social relationships. The specific requirements of the stakeholders
will provide the basic necessities and patterns that shall be implemented. The stakeholder will
achieve the needs as per their requirements without any ambiguities and confusion (Donaldson,
Blackburn, Blessner & Olson, 2015).
As a result, the operational errors will be reduced and the amount of re-work that is usually
required with the information systems and their configuration is also brought down. There are
advantages that are provided to the enterprises as well. The performance of the enterprises is
improved.
Conclusion
EA is a concept that allows the enterprises to strategically plan and align the information systems
and applications with the business objectives. The main objective of EA is to present the
guidelines that can be implemented by an enterprise so that it may achieve the business goals and
objectives. Enterprise Architecture amalgamates the description of the best applications,
strategies, technologies, and procedures that an organization shall implement along with the
integration mechanism between these elements. Communication between the information
systems installed in an organization is a significant need to achieve the benefits. Also, it is
required that the internal and external stakeholders along with all of the resources engaged with
an enterprise maintain enhanced communication levels with each other. The Enterprise
Architects and the stakeholders connect with each other to determine the scope of each of these
systems. Adequate management is one of the necessary activities that play a significant role in
the information systems as well in the Enterprise Architecture. There are several risks and
attacks to security that have been observed in association with the IS. This is because there are a
number of access points that are present in these information systems. The EA includes advanced
security components and modules at every layer. There are mechanisms, such as access control,
authentication, encryption, intrusions detection, and prevention that are used to prevent and
avoid such security issues.
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IS Strategy, Architecture, and Business Alignment
References
Alshammari, B. (2017). Enterprise Architecture Security Assessment Framework (EASAF).
Journal Of Computer Science, 13(10), 558-571.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2017.558.571
Bergvall-Kareborn, B., & Howcroft, D. (2014). Persistent problems and practices in information
systems development: a study of mobile applications development and distribution.
Information Systems Journal, 24(5), 425-444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/isj.12036
Chesla, A. (2004). Information Security: A Defensive Battle. Information Systems Security,
12(6), 24-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/1086/44022.12.6.20040101/79783.5
Donaldson, W., Blackburn, T., Blessner, P., & Olson, B. (2015). An Examination of the Role of
Enterprise Architecture Frameworks in Enterprise Transformation. Journal Of Enterprise
Transformation, 5(3), 218-240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19488289.2015.1056451
Iyamu, T. (2017). Understanding the Complexities of Enterprise Architecture through
Structuration Theory. Journal Of Computer Information Systems, 1-9.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2017.1354341
Kappelman, L., & Zachman, J. (2013). The Enterprise and its Architecture: Ontology &
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2013.11645654
Kotusev, S. (2017). Conceptual Model of Enterprise Architecture Management. International
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0218843017300017
Lankhorst, M.M., Iacob, M.E., & Jonkers, H. (2005). Enterprise Architecture at Work:
Modelling, Communication and Analysis. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2016.09.239
Masuda, Y., Shirasaka, S., Yamamoto, S., & Hardjono, T. (2018). Architecture Board Practices
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in Adaptive Enterprise Architecture with Digital Platform. International Journal Of
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