Enterprise Architecture and Organizational Benefits: A Case Study

Abstract

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a framework that consists of multiple processes to align business strategies with information technology (IT) architecture. It helps the organization standardize business operations and incorporate systems in different layers to achieve business goals and organizational benefits. This study focuses on identifying organizational benefits that can be achieved through EA implementation. The study comprises three main phases: (i) benefits realization (from literature review), (ii) benefits reconfirmation (from EA experts), and (iii) benefits validation (through a case study). Specifically, the benefits considered in this study are related to EA products, services, and strategies are known as: (i) business agility, (ii) creating competitive advantage, and (iii) increasing value. The study covers a vast literature review to define the current status of EA and organizational benefits. In addition, the study incorporates a number of measuring factors for each EA benefits with the help of a literature review. The initial findings reconfirmed and modified based on the experts’ opinions collected through interview sessions. The research applied the grounded theory and qualitative approach to analyze the interview sessions. Accordingly, using the experts’ advice, we proposed a model to show the steps and guidelines for assessing EA organizational benefits using corresponding measuring factors and sub-criteria. Finally, the proposed model validated through an in-depth case study to get final confirmation and see the model fits reality. Overall, this research highlight the potential benefits an organization can achieve from EA framework implementation. The proposed framework can assist EA decision-makers to understand and realize the EA benefits and its assessment process.