Report on FinCorp's Enterprise Architecture Implementation

This report examines the Enterprise Architecture (EA) implementation at FinCorp, a mid-size financial company. It explores the core concepts of data and information architecture, highlighting how the newly implemented EA practice and specialized software tool are the best options for the company. The report discusses how the software tool supports business continuity plans, facilitates informed decision-making through audit and compliance standards, and contributes to achieving the original objectives of improving business and IT alignment. It delves into data architecture, which governs data collection, storage, and movement, and information architecture, which structures and interprets data to provide meaningful information. The report emphasizes the benefits of EA, such as lower management costs, improved business productivity, and efficient use of information. Furthermore, it outlines how the software tool aids in strategic planning, analysis, design, and execution of business operations, ensuring that FinCorp can address IT investment issues and improve overall efficiency. The report also highlights the role of audit and compliance standards in EA, ensuring that the company meets regulatory standards and maintains effective governance structures.

Report

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
Core concepts of data and information architecture and how the newly implemented EA is the best
option for FinCorp...................................................................................................................................3
Discuss how the news installed specialized software tool for enterprise architecture would support
continuity plans in context of EA............................................................................................................4
Role of audit and compliance standards in EA and how the newly implemented software tool would
facilitate informed decision making.........................................................................................................5
How the newly installed tool would contribute to achieving original objectives of the EA initiative to
improve business and IT alignment.........................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Enterprise architecture can be defined as the process by which companies organize their
IT infrastructure, in order to align with business goals and objectives. These strategies support
the IT growth and digital transformation of the company (Alwadain and et. al., 2016). Enterprise
architecture helps businesses in structuring their IT projects as well as policies in order to
achieve desired goals and objectives. This report is based on FinCorp, which is a mid-size
financial company that decided to establish an EA practice in order to accommodate with the
growing problems around its IT investments and poor IT alignment. The report explains the
concept of data and information architecture and the role of audit and compliance standards in
EA and how the tool will help in effective decision making.
MAIN BODY
Core concepts of data and information architecture and how the newly implemented EA is the
best option for FinCorp
Data architecture can be defined as the collection, storage and movement of data across
an organization, on the other hand, information architecture analyzes and interprets are
individual points into meaningful information. Data architecture is basically composed of
different models, standards or rules and policies that govern what kind of data is collected and
how is it stored, arranged, integrated and used in an organization. It is important because
organizations need effective strategies as to how to use their data (Bernaert and et. al., 2016). Not
only this, they also need help regarding what tools to adopt in order to manage the data. Data
architects are responsible for maintaining the database of a company by identifying installation
solutions. They also work closely with data analysts and administrators in order to provide an
easy access to the organization data.
Information architecture, on the other hand, can be referred to as a means of providing a
structured and detailed description of an organization’s information and relation of this
information to its business requirements, applications and technology (Difference between
Information Architecture and Data Architecture, 2020). An information architect plays an
important role within a accompany and is basically responsible for providing a positive
experience to the users through proper planning and designing of information for the company’s

website and applications. And this is done by carefully analyzing how users interact with the
company’s different communication systems. Information architecture primarily focuses on
organizing, structuring the available information in an effective manner. Information architecture
is important for an organization because it helps in organizing and managing information within
a company in an effective manner so that the users an understand it easily. Also, it gives a
competitive edge to the products of the company.
FinCorp decided to establish a full-fledged EA practice in their system in order to
accommodate with the growing problem of its IT investments and poor It as well as business
alignment (Chorafas, 2016). Establishing an EA practice is the best option for respective
company because it will be able to carry out its operation much more efficiently with low
management costs as well as ore shared capabilities. The workforce of the company will become
more flexible, there will be less duplication and the overall business productivity will improve.
The enterprise architecture will help the architects in the company to analyze business models
and create a transformation project portfolio hat will help in making effective decisions
(Enterprise Architecture Benefits, 2020). Since EA will lower the management costs and
required software development support, IT department of the respective company will be able to
operate more effectively. Lastly, the information available will also be used efficiently.
Discuss how the news installed specialized software tool for enterprise architecture would
support continuity plans in context of EA
FinCorp had been facing problems with its IT investments, poor IT and business
alignments. This was the reason why the management decided to establish EA practice within
the system that would support its continuity plans and help it in dealing potential threats in the
future. The specialized software tool will help the architects of the company to document
different areas of the organizational IT landscape and associated business processes in the EA
repository effectively (Foorthuis and et. al., 2016). The installed software tool for enterprise
architecture will support the architects within the company as well as other employees. They will
be able to make decisions that will be strategically planned, designed and executed. This will
further help them in dealing with any threats that might come up in the future. Also, the company
will be able to save more on management costs and ensure that all business activities function
efficiently.

Also, since the tool is capable of modelling, visualization and analytics, it will be very
helpful to the architects in making sound decisions. This will further help the company in
achieving its goals and objectives in a much more efficient way. The toll will be a value add for
the company as the managers will get a top down view of the structure and different IT systems.
This will be very helpful for the respective company, FinCorp, to deal with challenges in the
future. The top down view that will be provided by the software tool for EA, will enable the
architects to utilize information in an enhanced manner which will lead to an increase in the
overall productivity. They will also be able to identify potential gaps and as a result, make more
informed decisions. Not only this, the tool will also help the company in meeting operational
demands as well as opportunities.
Enterprise architecture will encourage the company to adopt an approach that is outcome
focused and proactive. Also, if the architects will use it in an appropriate manner, the software
tool for EA will ensure that all employees of the company are on the same page and that they
have a better understanding of business operations (The 6 Key Benefits of Enterprise
Architecture for Your Organization, 2019). The tools will support the continuity plans of
FinCorp and will be valuable for it by making improvements in its overall efficiency and
effectiveness. Also, the overall quality of business information will improve. The EA approach is
the most widely used across different organizations. Not only this, there will be an alignment of
investment so that desired objectives will be achieved.
Role of audit and compliance standards in EA and how the newly implemented software tool
would facilitate informed decision making
A compliance audit can be defined as a series of checks that is performed in order to
make sure that an organization is meeting regulatory standards that are applicable to it. The audit
and compliance standards ensure that business operations of the respective company are
functioning accordingly. The standards will make sure that all the policies and directives of the
company are complete as well as approved (Lapalme and et. al., 2016). The policies should also
be up-to-date and in-use by the company. According to the standards, owners of the company
should be actively engaged in the development of an IT Enterprise Architecture vision, strategies
as well as principles for the company. The main objective of these standards basically is to

determine if there is an adequate governance structure in place within the company that supports
decisions relating to Enterprise Architecture.
Another important role of audit and compliance standards in EA is to ensure that roles ad
responsibilities for directing, monitoring and approving the IT enterprise architecture have been
successfully established. Also, in order to determine if there are effective IT EA development as
well as implementation processes are in place with various sectors, there should be a high-level
version of IT enterprise architecture principles with the company. The principles would describe
the respective organization in terms of performance, data, services, security requirements as well
as business operations (Niemi and Pekkola, 2017). Another important role of the standards is to
ensure that an IT Enterprise Architecture transformation plan has been developed and is
available with the company. The plan would define the current as well as future environment of
Information Management and Technology. Their role will also include to determine whether
there is an effective oversight of IT EA through performance management and monitoring in
order to ensure that desired outcomes are achieved.
The newly implemented software tool would significantly facilitate informed decision
making. This is because it will present all the relevant information and facts to the managers who
will then be able to make reliable and effective decisions. The main purpose of the software tool
will be to ensure a greater alignment between business concerns as well as information
technology. The tool will guide the planning as well as designing process of the company and
thus help it in achieving the desired goals and objectives. The management will be able to work
with more organization and less duplications. Therefore, establishment of the software tool will
help the management of the company to make more informed decisions and work efficiently.
This is also because the main aim of the newly implemented software tool will be to guide the
company to desirable future position.
How the newly installed tool would contribute to achieving original objectives of the EA
initiative to improve business and IT alignment
FinCorp had been facing issues with the poor business and IT alignment, for which it
decided to establish n EA practice (Olsen and Trelsgård, 2016). After studying the available
offerings on the tool in the EA market, the IT leaders within the company decided to purchase
the specialized tool. Their decision to implement the same would definitely contribute to

achieving original objectives so that their problems can be resolved. The software tool is
basically designed to help enterprise architects and other IT stakeholder of the company to
strategically, plan, analyze, design and execute business operations. The tool will be helpful
because it will allow the company to organize its business operations in such a way that they
function in the most efficient manner and help the company in achieving goals and objectives.
In order to improve business and IT alignment, it is important that the architects of the
company interact well with each other. The basic purpose of enterprise architecture is to improve
the overall alignment between IT as well as business concerns (Shanks and et. al., 2018).
Aligning business with IT means that the resources available within the company are being
utilized in the most effective manner. Therefore, if the company wants to increase its efficiency
as well as performance in the market, it will be able to do so with the help of newly implemented
software tool. It will not only help in aligning business with IT, but also help the architects of
FinCorp to make informed decisions and make sure that all employees are working towards the
same goals. Also, IT systems that are implemented and are in line with the company’s strategic
plans, will be valuable and well used by the employees.
The tool installed by the vendor for FinCorp will also help the company in remaining
competitive and perform effectively. Aligning business and IT will also help the company in
solving any other problems that it is currently dealing with. This is also because there are a large
number of tools that are available today and the most important thing for the company to solve is
to align the business processes in such a way that the trained staff members are able to function
more effectively as well as efficiently (Vargas and et. al., 2016). Therefore, if there will be ab
alignment, the company will be able to reduce unnecessary costs and carry out its business
operations in a much more enhanced way.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be said that EA is an important aspect for a company
because it helps it in making effective decisions, reducing unnecessary management costs etc. It
is basically focused on the strategy as well as business requirements of a company. Whenever an
organization decided to implement a special software tool for EA, it should adhere to various
audit and compliance standards. This will ensure a smooth functioning of the various business
operations. Software tools for EA also contribute significantly to the business’s continuity plans

as well as make sure that all the available resources within the company are utilized in the most
efficient manner.
REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Alwadain, A. and et. al., 2016. Empirical insights into the development of a service-oriented
enterprise architecture. Data & Knowledge Engineering. 105. pp.39-52.
Bernaert, M. and et. al., 2016. CHOOSE: Towards a metamodel for enterprise architecture in
small and medium-sized enterprises. Information Systems Frontiers. 18(4). pp.781-818.
Chorafas, D. N., 2016. Enterprise architecture and new generation information systems. CRC
Press.
Foorthuis, R. and et. al., 2016. A theory building study of enterprise architecture practices and
benefits. Information Systems Frontiers. 18(3). pp.541-564.
Hinkelmann, K. and et. al., 2016. A new paradigm for the continuous alignment of business and
IT: Combining enterprise architecture modelling and enterprise ontology. Computers in
Industry. 79. pp.77-86.
Lapalme, J. and et. al., 2016. Exploring the future of enterprise architecture: A Zachman
perspective. Computers in Industry. 79. pp.103-113.
Niemi, E. and Pekkola, S., 2017. Using enterprise architecture artefacts in an organisation.
Enterprise Information Systems. 11(3). pp.313-338.
Olsen, D. H. and Trelsgård, K., 2016. Enterprise Architecture adoption challenges: An
exploratory case study of the Norwegian higher education sector. Procedia Computer
Science. 100. pp.804-811.
Shanks, G. and et. al., 2018. Achieving benefits with enterprise architecture. The Journal of
Strategic Information Systems. 27(2). pp.139-156.
Vargas, A. and et. al., 2016. Towards the development of the framework for inter sensing
enterprise architecture. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing. 27(1). pp.55-72.
Online
Difference between Information Architecture and Data Architecture. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:< https://www.webagesolutions.com/knowledgebase/kb015/kb015-information-
vs-data-architecture>.
Enterprise Architecture Benefits. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://adataanalyst.com/enterprise-architecture/enterprise-architecture-benefits/>.
The 6 Key Benefits of Enterprise Architecture for Your Organization. 2019. [Online]. Available
through:< https://architecture-center.com/de/blog/143-the-6-key-benefits-of-enterprise-
architecture-for-your-organization.html >.