Who Still Cares About Enterprise Architecture? – Part 6 (Conclusion)

Today's content forms the sixth and final part of a series titled "Who Still Cares About Enterprise Architecture?". In this series I discuss the footprints of modern enterprise architecture, the potential death of the enterprise architect role, major players (such as The Open Group, AWS or Azure's TOGAF) and the role of EA tool vendors, as well as other related certifications and market developments.

In today's sixth part we draw conclusions from the previous sections and forecast what this means for the future.

Whether you are reading this article or listening to the podcast version, be sure to also check the first five parts of the series!

Who still cares about enterprise architecture? — Part 6 of 6

1. Enterprise Architecture Activities Are Performed by Different Roles

EA is no longer always called EA, but the practice remains highly relevant. Most modern EA thought leaders and industry influencers no longer refer to themselves as enterprise architects, which is why the practice is considered less important today.

However, new titles and roles have emerged that cover enterprise‑architecture aspects that were not part of the traditional EA model. In addition, enterprise‑architecture activities are often carried out by IT architects who assume both IT and enterprise responsibilities, resulting in greater alignment between enterprise and IT architecture, sometimes handled by the same role.

2. New Enterprise Architecture Management Frameworks

As the relevance and urgency of frameworks and methods increase, new participants are entering the enterprise‑architecture space.

Traditional, well‑known EA organizations appear too slow to respond to the disruption caused by digital transformation.

Consequently, vendors of new tools and technologies, especially those from the cloud sector, have developed their own frameworks and methods to address the multi‑dimensional challenges of their organizations.

3. Enterprise Architecture Frameworks Are Essential for Successful Digital Transformation

Digital development continues to cause regular disruptions and strong growth (e.g., new cloud service providers and supporting technologies).

Therefore, many emerging market participants offer new and diverse solutions, leading to a fragmentation of EA best practices.

Thus, EA targets different practices and departments and involves various participants such as tool vendors, large cloud providers, agile frameworks, organizations and communities.

The Future of Enterprise Architecture

While diversity of solutions and competition is beneficial in many areas, it is not advantageous for enterprise architecture that aims to provide standards and comparability. Moreover, a diversified market of solutions may make the work of IT and enterprise architects more challenging in the future, as they need to maintain an overview and full consistency.

Consequently, the diversified landscape that has developed in recent years may consolidate and coordinate under new (or even old) umbrella terms that cover the key activities and goals of enterprise architecture.

This is the conclusion of the "Who Still Cares About Enterprise Architecture" series. If you liked it or found it helpful, please like, share, and let me know your feedback in the comments below!

The article also provides a table of links to various community resources, social media channels, and promotional pages related to enterprise architecture and related technologies.