When you first start a business, you typically adopt a specific operating model, engage resources (often less than 5) and acquire computing devices and printers. You may buy a server or rent storage space in the cloud. That’s the people, connectivity and information sharing sorted.
As customer sales and revenue increase you start to deploy operational procedures such as invoicing, procurement and payments. You acquire new business applications and slowly systemise the business. Next – the introduction of quality and other standards.
This then becomes business as usual and you now have a “traditional business”.
But what happens when the industry or customer demand suddenly changes; you receive requests for shared data; you form joint ventures and the market demands instant answers; or, employees and contractors request to use their own devices rather than those issued by the organisation? Lots of organisations today are grappling with these scenarios. They are finding that systems and processes have been implemented in a fashion that they are not adaptable and actually prohibit the business from being agile and responsive. Systems and processes have been built to work within the walls of the organisation and not outside of it. Data cannot be shared or accessed easily. Furthermore, specific software applications can only be used on specific devices. Sound familiar?
As you move towards a world of smart devices, 24×7 data availability, boundary-less organisations and disruptive technologies you need to consider the most effective way to plan and deploy. This is where I believe enterprise architecture is a great intervention strategy for creating an agile business. Have a look you may be surprised.
