Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Beyond Basics
The chief architect must always be looking toward the future, identify-
ing trends and emerging strategies that will play a part in the next cycle
of enterprise evolution and the ones beyond. The architect must have an
understanding of the impact of decisions made in creating and imple-
menting the central vision, to avoid closing doors not yet even glimpsed
ahead. This can at times be a journey fraught with peril, as many unan-
ticipated consequences can arise from small differences in technology.
Language Standard
The adoption of a programming standard, such as the Java J2EE lan-
guage, works very well in the resource-plentiful PC environment but may
not always scale well into mainframe OS architectures, where thousands
of processes may be sharing a vast but not unlimited resource pool. Even
though the language can perform within both environments, the manner
in which applications must operate can vary widely in such circumstances.
Similarly, the selection of an object-oriented programming language (Java,
.NET) can create disruption if developers have previously used a traditional
language (ANSI C, COBOL), because of the fundamental differences in
how these types of programming languages transfer information.
Operational Environment
Environments that must support real-time operations rely on different
solutions than those required for high-volume transactional processing,
distributed computing, or detailed business intelligence analytical process-
ing. The data structures necessary to support each type of operation differ
in terms of resource consumption, scalability, data throughput, metadata
organization, 24/7 availability, security, recoverability, and many other
factors. Beyond the data structures, user interface design, reporting, and
other tools will vary widely among tasks, and decisions can have a strong
impact on many of these tasks. Selection of an operating system platform,
user office suite, application suite, data management solution, program-
ming language, development suite, and all of the other elements of the
technology implementation plan can amplify or negate business drivers
present in each scenario.
