Although often associated strictly with information technology, it relates more broadly to the practice of business optimization in that it addresses business architecture, performance management and process architecture as well. [reference: Wikipedia 5 Feb. 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_architecture]".
Enterprise Architecture
Let me speak with the CEO's and CIO's of enterprises and any of you that find these types of topics interesting.
When diving in to locate the chain and its weak-link of your enterprise that may be located on a design, we'll call the directional arrows that I refer to within the drawings, not as arrows but as chains. Thanks to my wife (very strategic in thought), I present a difficult concept.
We're now looking for the "weak-link". Get it! Not "points-of-failure" as someone I know called it. My God, that terminology scares the baddest of the bad, especially Sr. VP, VP and Systems Admin. people. Why? Because it's demeaning and introduces negative connotations from the get-go.
Understand?! Good-let's continue...
Most IT executives forget about this one most important fact. The plain fact that there are many layers of an architectural design that can be considered as strategic, but to whom. This initial discussion can be considered high level (strategic in design), and is the area where I wish to clarify.
If you can not articulate at what level of the design you want to digest, then let me suggest something to start you along.
The fact, that many of you Chief Information Officers are leaving, jumping ship and switching positions to wherever at an alarming rate, is irresponsible in my estimation. Stop and take hold of your resources.
CEO's can't fathom why you are jumping except that maybe that's the norm here. Well it isn't except for the one's that can't clearly paint that picture for those 8 a.m. meetings with your seniors.
Give me a break folks! Let's look, discuss and target what we are really after besides the $$$.
You really have much to offer, yes that's a fact. You really know your stuff-yes, that's another fact. And, how you wish others can just understand what you are saying, take-off from there and fly in the same airspace as you. That's a fact for many of us!
OK! That's not the point- the point here is that if you have not been schooled with and in technology, then that 'old school' thought that you can run the business or section well is absolutely untrue. Not today!
I now want to speak with the those of you who have a technical as well as business background-these in my humble gestimation are the champs. Here we can go high-level, mid-high-level, higher than high level or lower than the third high-level and still get it.
So, we are now ready to understand the business impact of technology and how it plays on the architecture.
I am adding some designs to give you an example of where we are going with the discussion.
This is a high-level on something called Enterprise Service Bus Architecture...cool.
Here's another one on the same subject, different high-level approach.
Now, at this point we can add all kinds of scary trash here like an architecture of a large bank that has Microsoft's Systems Management Server (SMS) for app./patches/upgrades/etc. deployment to 8,700 end users desktops. These SMS servers are, let's say about 1,300 in number (good round numbers).
We are in fact, painting the underpinnings or underbelly of this giant beast. Now, I hope you are getting the point so far. Just because you don't understand the underside of the beast, does not mean it's not important to YOUR discussion. It is. Let's go on.
This enterprise is a large one and NOT make believe. It in fact, lives. I saw it, smelled it, and worked on it.
We'll add another 1401 Servers (prod., Dev., Lab., and Test). Storage is around 103 TB. OK! This is getting boring, so I'm calling it - 7,560 TDM phones, 2,735 VoIP Telecommunications. 2,700 Wireless Blackberries and finally, 897 Offshore (India) clients.
We have painted (together) the belly of the best beast. Here we understand that the chain is strong and everything is working. The chain exists even with its weak-links. However, we also understand that intermittent problems can and do exist. Even though, we are working, there are underlying issues. What is the cost of intermittent downtime to YOU!
I am not going into the myriad of details about how one can build in Web Optimization, appliance redundancy, and integrating BIGIP systems throughout to solve a ton a problems. Or, the fact that the OC3 Vendors that give you light through your trunks (circuits) need to be diverse. Diversity meaning more than one vendor supplier. Anyway, the problems solved here on paper and the issues understood.
Now, at this point before we loose the "business executives" who should have a clue what we've just discussed, and probably don't, I'll say right here, right now, that your summation of the enterprise cannot possibly be articulated with any business intelligence, because "if you don't understand that a car needs oil in it's engine-guess what?"
We have fooled around too long - let's get to that diagram I promised early on.
This is what these executives understand. But again, let me reiterate, the weak-links of the system or under-belly of the beast have to be understood as "intermittent" and possible "weak-links".
You will never know when they go, so designing a high-level design just so "YOU" understand and having analysts build you a full offering with metrics and quantitative equations, is really an exercise that can show you a "dashboard" that really has no merit, whatsoever. It looks good-but it's off...It's primarily a circle jerk!
Why? Because the weak-link will fail, break, tear apart, stop working when you least expect it.
Again- these are the points that can have a large business impact and high intangible cost. They can be prioritized as medium or high-because we the technical cadre' understand about an engine running without oil.
CIO's, Sr. VP's and CEO's-now's the time to talk with each other, by formulating points of discussion, understanding by referencing why intangibles are more harmful to an enterprise than black and white, tangibles. High Impact-You Bet!
Understand the many levels of strategic design before simplifying a design that really does not or at best attempts to capture any intelligence whatsoever.
In closing, if I were to say to my CEO, that at this strategic level, our mission statement and IT infrastructure is aligned....I would not be ethically inclined to bet my life on that broad statement. You can go ahead and say what you want. It may never break. But when it does, pack your bags and run after the CIO's who went before you.
Lyle K'ang, MBA/IM
VP Business IT Analyst Consultant
-LyveOasis-
Consultant for VITConsultancy.com
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