White Paper

The purpose of this document is to identify the potential value to your organization attributed to the successful completion of an Enterprise-Wide Technical Architecture (EWTA).

This document consists of the following topical areas:

• Identification of general government organization strategic business drivers
• Outline of potential deficiencies related to the current state of information technology in your organization
• Comparison of an organization’s information technology before and after an EWTA.

State government has pledged to improve access to services, provide more customer focus and satisfaction, improve efficiency and effectiveness and build human resource capacity. The Departments and Agencies must accomplish these goals while responding to rapidly changing internal and external business influences. Issues affecting the organization today include:

• Funding reductions and business cost increases require organizations to do "more with less." To accomplish this, the organization must redesign many of its administrative and business processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness
• California’s population continues to grow and diversify. To meet the needs of the State’s citizens, government organizations must focus on identifying customer needs and developing new service delivery mechanisms through partnerships and other resources
• Customers at all levels want direct access to government information and services. To provide services to these customers, organizations must enable access and service to anyone, anywhere, anytime
• Private companies and public agencies increasingly focus on outcomes and accountability rather than process. To remain competitive, organizations must attract, develop and retain a diverse and skilled workforce to provide quality products and services
• Technology innovations drive and contribute to current business trends toward alternative worksites and telecommuting. To manage a mobile and distributed workforce, organizations must develop capabilities to connect, support and manage these workers
• Many of business processes are reliant on the experience and knowledge of the organization's staff. To leverage this resource, government must capture and retain employee’s business knowledge in its automated systems
• California’s economy continues to depend on small business growth. To help these employers remain in business, government must reach out through innovative means to communicate, educate and provide electronic access services to these employer "partners".

Historically, the state has successfully implemented its vision through effective use of information technology. Systems automated manual processes and stored data. Business processes changed infrequently and lengthy development cycles were acceptable. During the last several years, the rate of business change increased dramatically and the existing systems environment could not keep pace.

Although many projects are extending technology and enhancing services, a gap has developed between line of business requirements and Information Technology’s capacity to respond.

Issues cited in business area and Information Technology interviews conducted at state agencies indicate the inability to:

• Rapidly deploy business process changes in existing IT systems
• Obtain information quickly for strategic decision making, resource management and standard or ad hoc reports
• Respond timely to mandates and assess their impact on existing IT environments
• Support the increased range of technology products
• Effectively manage IT complexity
• Maintain and add new IT skill sets.

These problems are a result of the existing information technology environment. The current environment consists of independent, ad hoc technology solutions that address specific program problems. This leads to a situation where IT is reactive and tactical. Enterprise-wide Technical Architecture is derived from business-driven requirements. It is proactive and strategic.

A comparison of an organization before and after EWTA implementation effort illustrating the difference is shown below.

An EWTA mandates the alignment of information technology with line of business goals. It "engineers out" everything that inhibits change and "engineers in" a high tolerance for the unanticipated. Organizations that embrace business driven architectures have a technology plan and blueprint to guide their directions, choices, and investments. They posses a framework allowing them to respond to business and IT trends.

When technology was expensive relative to staff costs, these organizations utilized personnel resources and placed less emphasis on technology. Today the trend is reversed. Technology costs are decreasing and staff costs are increasing. Organizations with strong business-driven architectures leverage declining technology costs and optimize staff resources.

An architecture creates an IT environment that supports:

• Better alignment of IT resources with business goals to rapidly respond to business process changes
• More effective IT investments
• Lower total cost of ownership
• Successful resolution of emerging business problems while leveraging existing technology investment
• Development of a consistent framework for future technology decisions; thereby, limiting time consuming and unproductive technology debates.

A fully implemented EWTA increases the organization's ability to provide consistent services, accessible information, scaleable infrastructure, and flexible technology integration on demand. It helps bridge the gap between business and IT and create a shared enterprise vision. Organization management can focus more on business objectives and less on information technology issues.

The Enterprise-wide Technical Architecture positions IT as a partner that proactively enables improved business services at an accelerated pace through resourceful means while allowing the organization to "work better, faster and smarter".

David McAfee, dmcafee@lanset.com http://www.lanset.com/dmcafee