Definition
Enterprise architecture is an ongoing business function that helps an 'enterprise' figure out how to execute best the strategies that drive its development. The MIT Center for Information Systems Research (MIT CISR) defines enterprise architecture as the specific aspects of a business that are under examination:
- Enterprise architecture is the organizing logic for business processes and IT infrastructure reflecting the integration and standardization requirements of the company's operating model. The operating model is the desired state of business process integration and business process standardization for delivering goods and services to customers.
The United States Government classifies enterprise architecture as an Information Technology function, and defines the term not as the process of examining the enterprise, but rather the documented results of that examination. Specifically, US Code Title 44, Chapter 36, defines it as a 'strategic information base' that defines the mission of an agency and describes the technology and information needed to perform that mission, along with descriptions of how the architecture of the organization should be changed in order to respond to changes in the mission.
Read more about this topic: Enterprise Architecture
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