Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
boundaries. Multiple autonomous heterogeneous silos of parallel opera-
tion yield localized responsiveness at the cost of opportunities for effi-
ciency, much like physical city planning efforts. Parallel architectural
control scenarios tend to experience large undesirable redundancies in
data, hardware, and staffing requirements and do not adapt to wide-scale
upgrade as well as more closely coordinated architectural forms. This is
the least efficient format for large enterprise networks, as differing archi-
tectural decisions may generate standards conflict, compromise security,
and create large areas of overlapping expense and operational effort.
Creating a Symphony
Federated architectural solutions, whether distributed serially or in paral-
lel, must have a central chief architect to set basic policy and provide the
highest-level vision—all other forms of federated architecture will pro-
duce conflicting internal elements and impair long-term efficiency and
viability. This need is seen in many other operational arenas: Cooking,
music, education, corporate control, and military strategy all rely on coor-
dination under a designated leader in order to avoid chaos.
Without a master chef, the sous-chefs and all others working in a com-
mercial kitchen might produce a variety of very nice dishes but would be
very unlikely to create an integrated masterpiece of culinary art. A general
officer in the military may rely heavily on the support of senior staff offi-
cers, but in the end must make decisions alone so that an army can move
toward a single purpose. The federal Sarbanes-Oxley legislation formal-
ized responsibilities built into the framework of corporate governance,
mandating specific attention and control in the corporate sector. A master
conductor must work to bring together the disparate instruments present
so that an orchestra can produce a symphony—one that will differ from
the same music played by the same orchestra under a different conductor's
baton. Each of these scenarios represents the same need found in enter-
prise architecture—someone, ultimately, must hold the baton.
Governance
The art of enterprise architecture relies on similar high-level coordination
to gain advantages in agility, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.
