ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE
In some cases , they don ’ t like to talk to each other and when they do , it ’ s not in a very effective way or even inefficient . Also , there are boundaries within IT between the developers and the operational staff .”
These boundaries , from Zeller ’ s perspective , are purely historically based and arbitrary . “ In most cases , there ’ s no justifiable rational reason for those boundaries . In order to tear down those boundaries and make those boundaries disappear , you have to facilitate collaboration . And in order to facilitate collaboration , you have to communicate , and you have to enable people to understand each others ’ concerns .
“ Not only do you need to enable a business analyst on the IT side to understand the business strategy , but you also need to enable a business strategic decision maker to understand the decision mechanics of an IT platform . So , you have to ensure understanding on both sides .
“ This requires being versatile and fluent as an enabler and facilitator of change , both as a good technologist and as a good business strategist .”
This , Zeller explains , is the core job description of an enterprise architect , to be fluent in both worlds and as he describes ‘ ride the elevator ’.
“ If you imagine a company with a C-suite in the penthouse and the IT department maybe in the basement , and then the business department somewhere in between , enterprise architects are able to ride the elevator and they have the capability to exit the elevator on every floor . And they are also able to move around on that floor in a very free manner .
“ They do have their own office somewhere . Mostly it ’ s on the floor where the IT department is , but they ’ re barely in their office because they ’ re constantly sitting
102 October 2023