Enterprise Architecture w12 PDF

w12 Explain the concept of Enterprise Architecture and its purpose Enterprise Architecture describes the structure of an enterprise, its decomposition into subsystems, the relationships between the subsystems, the relationships with external environment, the terminology to use, and the guiding princ...

w12 Explain the concept of Enterprise Architecture and its purpose Enterprise Architecture describes the structure of an enterprise, its decomposition into subsystems, the relationships between the subsystems, the relationships with external environment, the terminology to use, and the guiding principles for the design and evolution of an enterprise.” • Enterprise Architecture is the construction of an enterprise, described by its entities and their relationships Although EA started as a documentation approach for IT system, nowadays it has become a tool to help implement strategy. It is both a management and documentation method: o Management – an approach to planning, decision making, and resource development (align enterprise goals with IT) o Documentation –provides documentation of current (AS-IS) state so a path can be devised to get to the future (TO-BE) desired state Purpose: EA, its units, policies, processes, strategies and technological infrastructure (eg. IT systems), supports all stakeholders in achieving short- and long-term business goals and objectives of the enterprise. EA fosters an alignment of the technological systems developed by and used by an enterprise with its business goals and strategic direction. EA helps to an enterprise to learn, grow, innovate and respond to market demands and changing basic conditions. w12 1 EA fosters and maintains the learning capabilities of enterprises so that they may be sustainable. Identify and discuss the benefits of Enterprise Architecture Provides a model that allows stakeholders to understand and communicate the overall business design Provide a high level, holistic design of the business to show how all the subsystems will interoperate and coordinate their work Express architectural principles for long term vision of the enterprise, and governing principles of the enterprise to guide all other projects Maintain legal and regulatory standards. These benefits reduce operation costs, cost of infrastructure, and improve business processes through better integration and coordination. Identify and describe the various components of Enterprise Architecture Understand the role and value of reference architectures for building Enterprise Architecture A reference architecture is a meta-model for: Designing a broad range of architectures w12 2 Assisting in the evaluation of different architectures Selecting and building the right architecture for an organization Embodies “best practice” Presents a set of services, standards, design concepts, components and configurations Guides the development of specific architectures Understand how EIS are part of Enterprise Architecture to support Enterprise Integration Explain the concept of enterprise integration Enterprise Integration enables the seamless flow of information, control, and materials between different organizational units. It connects diverse functions and entities to enhance communication, cooperation, and collaboration, transforming the enterprise into a unified and integrated entity. This, in turn, boosts overall productivity, flexibility, and the ability to manage change and respond effectively. Describe different levels of enterprise integration Physical integration o Data integration – shared data schema, federated DBs, XML o Network integration – connectivity btw systems, applications or modules Application integration – interoperability of software applications Business integration – coordination of functions Describe the traditional (point-to-point and hub-and-spoke) EAI strategy for enterprise integration Point-to-Point EAI: Direct Connections: In a point-to-point EAI strategy, connections are established directly between individual applications or systems. Pros: Simplicity: It's relatively simple to set up and manage connections between two specific applications. w12 3 Direct Control: Offers direct control over the integration process for each application pair. Cons: Scalability Issues: As the number of applications grows, the number of connections also increases exponentially, making it difficult to manage and maintain. Lack of Reusability: Each connection is custom-built, leading to a lack of reusability and increased development effort. Limited Visibility: It may result in limited visibility and control over the entire integration landscape. Hub-and-Spoke EAI: Central Hub: In a hub-and-spoke EAI strategy, a central integration hub or middleware acts as an intermediary that connects multiple applications or systems. Pros: Centralized Control: Provides centralized control and management of integrations, making it easier to monitor and maintain. Reusability: Encourages the reuse of integration logic and components, reducing development efforts. Scalability: More scalable as additional applications can be connected through the hub without creating direct point-to-point connections. Cons: Initial Complexity: Setting up the central hub and defining integration logic can be initially complex. Single Point of Failure: The central hub can become a single point of failure, so redundancy and failover mechanisms are essential. Increased Latency: Data may pass through the central hub, potentially causing increased latency in data transmission. w12 4