At any given moment, you will find an organization executing a series of projects targeted at optimizing several aspects of their company. These efforts will be spawned from nearly every corner of the firm in nearly every direction; from the functional teams, from operations, from IT, from the bottom-up, and the top-down. The list of solutions can range from system implementations (ERP, CRM, SFA, etc) to optimization processes (six sigma, Kaizen, etc), to strategic alignment efforts (Balanced Scorecard, Project Office, communication plans, etc)… and more. Eventually, every one of these efforts will draw the same conclusion; that there are data problems in the organization, and the lack of information and knowledge sharing is holding back growth.

Many organizations can supply an array of perfectly rational reasons for having created a patchwork of systems and processes to solve business needs. Regardless of the path that has brought you here, you need a comprehensive map of how business and technology should be linked together and grow with the organization. As firms begin to seek an answer to this dilemma, they are discovering or being told they need an Enterprise Information Architecture (EIA).

Simply put, an EIA is a state. Enterprise Information Architecture is the real-world execution of the connectivity between business functions, business processes, data, physical architecture, rules, strategy, time, and people that allows an organization to extract information and knowledge for competitive advantage. At this very moment, you have an Enterprise Information Architecture. You probably have plenty of systems, redundant data, mixed platforms, and applications that don't talk to each other. You have multiple businesses solving the same problem with different applications. You have an intertwined environment so complex it has to be drawn from multiple perspectives (and they don't connect to each other). You are sure you don't even know everything that is out there. And it keeps changing! You leverage information where you can find, and have very limited levels of real knowedge transfer. Welcome to your current EIA.

What you need now is a method to describe your current state, your target future state, and the project paths to get you there, and the guidelines and principles to keep you on course and adaptable for business changes.

Contact us to learn more about our process for developing an Enterprise Information Architecture... and discover how UpStreme has helped other clients evolve their EIA's. Learn how we can help you create Strategy & Action for Focused Solutions.