TECH TRENDS
Four reasons CIOs are turning to Enterprise Architecture to drive their digital journey
Enterprise Architecture can address many needs faced by CIOs , including the need to reduce technology costs and complexity . Michael D ’ Onofrio , CEO of Orbus Software , outlines four reasons why Enterprise Architecture is helping many CIOs on their digital journey .
New and transformative technologies were rapidly entering the workplace even before the pandemic , enabling businesses to innovate and thrive in an increasingly digital world . But then 2020 happened , and what was supposed to take years had to happen in only a few months or less .
Now , technology is even more a pivotal enabler for business growth .
At the very centre of this , the role of the CIO is evolving from that of a technology expert to a business strategist . With this comes an entirely new challenge for the modern CIO : aligning IT strategy , technology and processes with much broader business objectives in mind .
This is where Enterprise Architects ( EAs ) can step in and guide CIOs on their Digital Transformation journeys . That ’ s because Enterprise Architect can create a scalable framework of IT assets and business processes aligned to corporate governance . In turn , this supports the organisation to deliver on its goals and strategic objectives .
As a result , Enterprise Architects can help bridge the divide between IT and the business , driving Digital Transformation initiatives .
There are many pain points that the modern CIO faces today . How Enterprise Architecture ( EA ) can meet these can be divided into four areas .
Guesswork and delay in decision-making
Digital Transformation has been key in responding to the disruption of work and business ecosystems , and most businesses ramped up their efforts to meet this sudden change . According to IDC , it is predicted that through 2022 70 % of organisations will have accelerated their use of digital technologies , transforming existing business processes to drive business resiliency . It ’ s evident that in this new world , technology is not a choice , but a fundamental business strategy that must be interwoven into every part of an organisation . With digital initiatives evolving at such an impressive rate , CIOs will need to make smarter , faster decisions that enable transformation .
However , business decisions made by the CIO require quantifiable , contextual and actionable insights that provide enough value to justify an investment , especially towards Digital Transformation . Here , Enterprise Architects can be leveraged . This is because of their ability to understand end-to-end data flows to ensure optimisation , meaning that digital and business strategies are aligned to meet an organisation ’ s needs of the present and future . Likewise , Enterprise Architects are uniquely positioned to identify enterprise data opportunities that people working within silos are unable to . Consequently , these advantages can translate into practical applications that are critical to
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