Enterprise architecture is more than a construction plan for your Information Technology. It is well known that companies which are able immediately to identify and take on board new strategies, and then integrate them successfully into their existing business processes, will reduce their time-to-market and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The utilisation of intelligent management methods when defining the two components of Enterprise Architecture (Business Architecture and IT Architecture), ensures consistency in security and processes. The integrity of flexible market appeal is also protected.
Several types of architecture frameworks are available, but there is no single industry defined standard. Contauro uses The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF). This is a comprehensive architecture framework that enables the design, evaluation and implementation of the architecture appropriate to the character of the enterprise. It is a Contauro tenet that while the CTO/CIO is/are responsible for the ‘how’ in the design of the architecture, the Chief Operating Officer must be responsible for the 'what' – i.e. to the enterprise strategy and business processes which are part of the framework and define the lower levels (information, technology).
The following illustration shows how Enterprise Architecture Management by Contauro can be an enabler to boost business and IT processes.
Source: derived from "Banking of the Information Age" by Leist/Winter, 1999