What is Business Architecture?
Business architecture refers to an organization’s framework. The Business Architecture Working Group of the Object Management Group (OMG), calls it “a blueprint of the enterprise that provides a common understanding of the organization and is used to align strategic objectives and tactical demands.” Here’s a visual that can help you understand it better:

To put it simply, business architecture enables strategic planning and strategic execution. And it used to align the businesses’ aims and objectives.
The Gap Between Business Architecture Strategy And Execution

About 80% of leaders feel the need to change their strategy in order to grow their organization. 44% have executed changes to these strategies to generate real value and remain competitive.
About 80% of leaders feel the need to change their strategy in order to grow their organization. 44% have executed changes to these strategies to generate real value and remain competitive.
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But implementing business architecture that enables those changes is a lot harder than it sounds.
In fact, 70% of enterprises fail to integrate business architecture into their projects and initiatives. And 80% of organisations have clearly defined strategies but have difficulty in executing them.
What Is The Problem With Business Architecture?
Here’s why business architecture is difficult to implement:
Challenges with collaboration
Designing and implementing a business architecture requires collaboration from every member.
Designing and implementing a business architecture requires collaboration from every member.
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But it’s difficult to get everyone inside the room and sell an idea.
Failure to Communicate
Enterprises think that stakeholders and key players are not part of designing the business architecture. In a top-down enterprise, communication within every tier is important. All stakeholders and key players need to be aware of the business architecture, otherwise it will meet resistance and lead to failure.
Ideal Team
Finding people with the appropriate skills is a must. Businesses will perform better with the right skill and the right people in the right place.
Technical Governance
The alignment of business strategy, objectives, infrastructure, collective tools and processes is vital but not easy. Security and division of data or duty are also a high priority.
The Customer
The final result of the business architecture depends on the customer’s wants. After all, if the business architecture does not suit the customer, it would fail to get their loyalty and interest.
The final result of the business architecture depends on the customer's wants. After all, If the business architecture does not suit the customer, it would fail to get their loyalty and interest.
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Unfortunately, most business architects don’t consider the customer when building their business solutions.
When this happens, the enterprise will likely not to succeed.
What Are Solutions To Improve Business Architecture?
The problems above can be solved through:
- Creating an environment where everybody will be involved in the decision-making processes.
- Considering the customer’s wants and needs.
- Making security and data control a high priority.
- Implementing measures to determine the strategy’s progress. This way, if a loophole has been detected, corrections can be made immediately.
- Having a clear vision. All stakeholders must understand the businesses’ goal and should be updated with the latest developments regardless of their hierarchy in the organisation.
Thank you for reading this!
Sincerely,
Heath Gascoigne
P.S. Many organisations fail to recognise these problems with their business architecture and take the necessary actions to solve them.
Remember: It’s always important to bridge the gap between strategy and execution.
P.P.S. If you want to learn more about business transformation, check out The Business Transformation Playbook or download the free preview here.
For more information, visit https://hoba.tech