Figure 3: Comparison of any company without Enterprise Architecture to an openended chainEnterprise Architecture is in the unique position of addressing these “open” links by creatinga quality feedback loop at every step of the way. Using Enterprise Architecture, BusinessArchitecture, and Solution Architecture, the chain becomes stronger, more flexible, and lessexpensive to own. KOC is currently developing its own customized architecture framework to suitFigure 4: An organization view with Enterprise Architecture14October - December 2012
its needs based on TOGAF (The Open GroupArchitecture Framework) version 9.0. Thecustomized framework is based upon suiting ourorganizational needs of Business and IT.There are innumerable benefits that KOC willobtain as a result of leveraging the usage of theEnterprise Architecture Program. Some of thesalient benefits include:• Capturing facts about KOC’s mission, functions,and business foundation in an understandablemanner to promote better planning anddecision making• Aligning IT with business by enabling the useof Technology to drive the facilitation of KOC’sbusiness drivers and help improve consistency,accuracy, timeliness, integrity, quality,availability, access, and sharing of informationacross the enterprise• Achieve economies of scale by providingmechanisms for sharing services across KOCthereby reducing or removing complexity andduplication of efforts• Improve communication among the businessorganizations and IT organizations within theenterprise through a standardized vocabulary• Provide architectural views that helpcommunicate the complexity of large systemsand facilitate management of extensive,complex environments• Focus on the strategic use of emergingtechnologies to better manage the enterprise’sinformation and consistently insert thosetechnologies into the enterprise• Support the processes for assessment ofbenefits, impacts, and capital investmentmeasurements and supporting analyses ofalternatives, risks, and tradeoffs• Highlight opportunities for building greaterquality and flexibility into KOC’s coreapplications without increasing cost• Expedite integration of legacy, migration, andnew systemsAny Enterprise Architecture initiative’s successdepends upon the co-operation and supportof the Executive Sponsorship, Business Usercommunity and ease of use usability of theprogram in everyday function. In addition toworking closely with all the six teams at CITGwe are currently are working with the StrategicPlanning Team from the Planning Group.We are also trying to interface with theInformation Solutions Team from the Research& Technology (R&T) Group. In addition,individuals can also begin to see the ROIfor this project through both the qualitativeand quantitative benefits of the of the EAimplementation.In Stage 2 we will be focusing on the “quickwins” or tactical initiatives that will fetch us animmediate return on investment for this projectand in Stage 3 we will be focusing on strategicinitiatives that will bring value to KOC in thelong run.Improved time to execute, standardized businessprocesses, formal governance and a steeringcommittee to monitor and improve the projectexecution times and incorporating industry bestpractices into KOCs daily functions are someof the benefits one will notice within the firstyear of the project. As the EA program maturesby leveraging technology and plugging-in withother groups at KOC, the benefits realized bythe EA program will be immense.Enterprise Architecture is one of the mostsophisticated IT initiatives that many largecorporations have implemented with great careand caution owing to its complexity due to theinvolvement of people, processes and varioustechnologies under one umbrella.The success of any Enterprise Architectureinitiative depends upon the support andcooperation of the company’s executiveleadership. It also requires strong capabilityof the execution team and support of all thesecondary contributors involved in the project.Upon successful implementation and ongoingmaintenance of any EA program, the benefitswill naturally outweigh the implementationcomplexities, and provide a more organizedand easily manageable platform to serve KOCbusiness needs that help contribute to the<strong>Company</strong> and State of <strong>Kuwait</strong>.October - December 2012 15
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