Enterprise Architecture

Today, enterprises are operating in an extremely dynamic and challenging environment, which threatens the traditional business model. They have recognized the need to innovate faster and leverage foundational and disruptive technologies such as cloud, automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver quicker results in a less disruptive manner. Enterprise Architecture (EA) is the enabler and change agent to help them undergo this transformation.

Enabling Business to do More through IT: Align business and technology to reduce costs, minimize risk and increase value

all changes to either business or technical environments, no matter how small, must be aligned with the direction the business is heading. The Enterprise Architecture team at ECI help clients define and develop all aspects of their enterprise initiatives for the incremental achievement of targeted outcomes through enhanced business capabilities.

ECI’s enterprise architecture helps organizations identify business processes that execute or support an organization’s mission and defines how Information Technology (IT) assets directly enable those processes. This allows executives in charge of business and IT transformation to foresee the impact of their decisions and plan the right actions at the right time based on actionable deliverables.

We believe that the increasing pace of change in business requires continuous improvements in enterprise architecture to deliver greater business performance and support your organization’s transformation.

Improved Decision Making: We can help you build coherent transition plans, comparing and prioritizing specific action items. Executives can foresee the impact of their decisions and plan the right actions at the right time to manage business transformation. With our solutions, you achieve greater agility and reactivity to overcome new business challenges.

We have the data, tools and capabilities to help.

  • Best Practice artifacts, program charters, metrics and processes that are focused on solving real business problems
  • Strong integration to business and IT strategic planning, governance and project management disciplines to ensure EA is relevant and effective
  • Seasoned consultants and analysts who understand business issues and have significant experience with all aspects of Enterprise Architecture & Technology Innovation
  • Jump-start the early stages of enterprise architecture development, including business and operating model development using proven EA methodologies
  • Accelerate change programs and position teams to realize business benefits faster.
  • Evolutionary and non-disruptive renewal of enterprise landscapes

ECI's Approach to Enterprise Architecture

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Enterprise architecture is an enabler to your organization’s vision – ideally flexible, scalable and agile to adapt to changing requirements. If you are constrained by the inelegance of your IT landscape, established processes and operations, you can embark on an EA program to transform it, piece by piece. Our consultants will guide you every step of the way till your business is optimized and future-ready.

At ECI our EA consultants are committed to the success of your initiatives. We emphasize on customized knowledge-based EA solutions for enterprise process and technology landscapes that fits your business needs.

Our service starts with an assessment of the existing Enterprise Architecture Program against a Reference EA Operating Model and a Maturity Model.  Based on the objectives and needs of the customer, a roadmap towards a target maturity level is developed.  We help establish the program with:

  • Starter repository of architectural principles, standards and artifact templates
  • Enterprise Architecture processes, including governance, roles and responsibilities
  • Providing a roadmap whereby both business and IT can fuel each other’s strategies.
  • Supporting the path to the desired maturity by providing consultants to fill skills, resource gaps and cross-training

ECI’s approach to Enterprise Architecture is flexible and customizable. While we suggest our comprehensive EA model based on best practices and industry standard frameworks, we are flexible to meet your organization need.

An ECI account manager directs each engagement and on-site consultants, ensuring high standards for quality and acting as a conduit between your business and the collective knowledge of our ECI family.

ECI selectively recruits, and develops employees with strong interpersonal skills to complement their solid business and technical acumen. Our consultants receive ongoing education through our professional development program, and attending industry conferences and training to keep current on evolving best practices. Nearly all our EA consultants are TOGAF EA certified and knowledgeable in California Enterprise Architecture (CEAF) as well as Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEAF) Frameworks.

Beyond professional skills, all ECI consultants share our core values: honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, excellence, care, and humility. ECI consultants demonstrated a deep commitment to our clients and a passion for excellence.

ECI’s Enterprise Architects excel at:

  • Understanding the challenges of engaging stakeholders and becoming a business advisor to their strategic planning efforts
  • Advancing long-term strategic objectives when investments are driven by tactical needs and short-term ROI
  • Communicating the value delivered by EA and ensuring EA activities enable better solution delivery
  • Fostering innovation and creative solutions while ensuring enterprise-wide coherence
  • Managing compliance in a complex, diverse environment

ECI has invested nearly two decades in developing a robust Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence to foster knowledge sharing for modeling and executing business outcome-driven EA practice using best practices techniques, methodologies, and processes. Our end objective is to help you model and implement flexible, changeable, and reusable assets.

In addition to our knowledge base, we have dedicated teams of subject matter experts in Solution, Business, Application and Data Architectures, Analysts, and Program Managers whose collective intelligence are yet another way for ECI clients to tap into our rich resources and hundreds of years of combined experience in Enterprise Architecture practice.

Continuous training and education is an integral part of ECI business and supported by our Professional Development Program for consultants so they continuously keep current on evolving EA frameworks, best practices, methodologies, tools and platforms.

All of these components ensure that when you work with ECI, you don’t just get individual consultants, you get the support of the entire ECI team with access to proven tools, frameworks, and methodologies.

At ECI our EA Center of Excellence support our client’s EA initiatives with:

  • Setting up architecture team
  • Selection and customization of a client-tailored EA framework
  • Selection of Architecture Methodology
  • Identification of specific types of artifacts for the framework
  • Creating and glossary of relevant architecture terms for client
  • Setting up Architecture Repository
  • Creation of Architecture Views
  • Establishing Enterprise Architecture Governance Process

By implementing our industry-specific enterprise architecture services—tailored to support each client needs—many organizations were able to significantly reduce their direct information technology costs, while gaining additional savings from cost avoidance and risk reduction.

Greater value for your businesses: Our enterprise architecture solutions can consolidate several different views of your organization so you can respond more quickly and deliver greater value to your businesses. The strategy and business organization views shed light on your ability to execute. The information view is essential for understanding how workflows and dependencies should be adapted both inside and outside your organization. The IT view indicates how your information system should change to meet business needs. And the risk and control view lets you factor in your company’s risk appetite and investment capacity.

ECI provides Enterprise Architecture that support business outcomes, accelerated by our enterprise architecture methodology to minimize duplication of effort and accelerate time to value.

With our enterprise architecture solutions, your enterprise architects and business stakeholders can ensure that IT governance is a proactive component of your overall enterprise governance – which is critical at times of business model disruptions.

OUR EA SERVICES

Our offerings include:

  • Custom and framework-based enterprise architecture development
  • Enterprise architecture governance and architecture team operating models

Our services span across multiple EA disciplines such as:

Enterprise Architecture Program Enablement

Our service starts with an assessment of your organization’s existing Enterprise Architecture against a Reference EA Operating Model and a Maturity Model.  Then we develop a roadmap towards a target maturity level based on your needs.  Our experts work alongside you to establish the EA program with:

  • Starter repository of architectural principles, standards and artifact templates
  • Enterprise Architecture processes, including governance, roles and responsibilities
  • Innovation lab to help in keeping up with technological advancements
  • Support the path to the desired maturity by providing our own consultants to fill skills, resource gaps and cross-training

Application Portfolio Rationalization

With a programmatic approach to portfolio rationalization, we help our clients determine the best option for each IT application or asset. Options range from retention, to application phase-out, to remediation (rewrite) or outsource. Our Application Portfolio Rationalization services include:

  • Establish a quantitative baseline of the efficiency and effectiveness of the current application landscape for better decision making
  • Align business and IT in a way that IT works on what’s most valuable to the business
  • Effect changes in the application portfolio (retirements, consolidation) for immediate payback
  • Provide expert advice to our clients to improve IT organizational effectiveness

Information Architecture Services

From strategy to delivery, ECI’s Enterprise Information Architecture service offers:

  • Strategic advisory across Enterprise Information Management, Business Intelligence and Analytics
  • Strategic advisory and implementation services for next‑generation technologies such as Big Data Analytics, Mobile and Cloud BI
  • Enterprise performance management solutions spanning business strategy and enterprise performance metrics definitions
  • End-to-end information management services including data management, data integration, data quality and data governance

Business and IT Strategy Alignment

We help our clients leverage IT to transform their business operations. Our experts speak the language of business and IT to provide:

  • Holistic analysis of client organization including business and IT alignment, technology, operations, governance and processes
  • Target-state definition, including target portfolio, infrastructure, governance, Program Management Office, architecture, strategic sourcing and staffing models
  • Cost-benefit analysis to evaluate value proposition
  • Implementation roadmap from current to target future state

Other Enterprise Architecture Services

Our website only includes samples of EA services we provide. We offer many other EA domain-specific services as well. To find out more about our EA services contact us and talk to one of our EA experts.

IT Asset and Financial Management

We help our clients to substantially reduce and control their IT equipment costs. We help you make better decision, mitigate risks, and improve your inventory control through standardization, proper documentation and loss detection.

Architecture Blueprinting Service

We help detail all the necessary stakeholder views of current state, future state or any transitional state, to include:

  • A Core diagram showing how the Application Architecture, Information Architecture and Technology Architecture support the Business Capabilities
  • Information Security View
  • Integration View
  • Other Views as needed