7 Enterprise Architecture Trends to Watch in 2024

The rapid pace of technological change in recent years has become a catalyst for the evolution of role that enterprise architects have within organizations. No longer just responsible for designing and managing IT systems, enterprise architects are now strategic partners in helping organizations achieve their business goals through the use of technology. In fact, 79% of leaders say demand for EA services have increased in the past year (BizzDesign).

The role of enterprise architects has becoming increasingly cross-functional, working with stakeholders from across the organizations to ensure alignment of IT systems with business needs and the needs of all users beyond just a technical perspective.

The current digital landscape continues to evolve at a lightning pace, giving rise to the need for more mature EA functionality to help break down tech silos and create better collaboration within organizations. Enterprise architects must forge a strong strategic partnership with CIOs to enable the development of configurable and scalable solutions and define a roadmap for future changes.

Here are seven trends that are poised to shape enterprise architecture in 2024.

 

1. Enterprise Architects as Key Change Enablers

 

Prior to this, the job of enterprise architects was focused on reducing an organization’s technical debt and simply their application portfolios to increase business agility. Now, amid rapidly evolving technological and business environments where cloud and API-led services have made systems more complex, there is no longer a need to manage technical debt in the same way. Instead, speed and adaptability are crucial.

Old-style governance processes are too rigid and slow for the current pace of innovation which limits what teams can do to innovate at speed and deliver a competitive advantage.

This is where enterprise architects come in as key change enablers and must champion the value of EA to stakeholders by highlighting how it is essential for a smooth digital future. This will ensure higher EA adoption, increased investment, and ultimately multiply the impact of architects in the organization.

 

2. Enterprise Architecture to Drive Sustainability

A study by MSCI ESG Research LLC found that progress on the sustainable development goals as defined by the United Nations is sorely lacking. In fact, only 38% of respondents were “aligned” with the goals while 55% were either “neutral” or “misaligned”. These findings add fuel to the greenwashing flame, which is no longer tolerated.

EA is an excellent tool for acting on sustainably drivers and defining how different sections of an organization can link together to trace sustainability metrics and progress. Enterprise architects can leverage different frameworks to first run an impact analysis for the organization in consultation with experts to inform their models and insights. From there, it’s important to define actions that can be taken to drive sustainability practices forward both from a technology and people perspective while determining adjustments that may be necessary along the way.

 

3. AI-enabled Enterprise Architecture

 

The hype over artificial intelligence (AI) is not waning. In fact, we’re moving from hype to practical application of AI in business as the technology goes mainstream. What this means for enterprise architects is that AI will start to become a practical tool to enable smarter design practices. On the other hand, the rapid adoption of AI technologies also mean that enterprise architects will have to design systems that support the application of AI-enabled tools.

In the world of EA, AI can be used to optimize the architecture documents with the intention of improving data quality in the face of continuous changes. AI-enabled EA can also intensify collaboration and make EA more accessible to organizations as an easier and quicker way to create models.

 

4. Real-time Compliance

 

With the conversation surrounding AI regulation and data privacy taking centre stage, enterprise architects will be called upon to help ensure that organizations are compliant to new and changing regulations.

The target now for most organizations that want to be data-driven and proactive is real-time compliance. A mature EA will be necessary to show reports on the scope of controls, state of compliance, and provide access to real-time evidence of effectiveness.

Everyone from CISOs to internal auditors and risk managers will benefit from mature EA, which can provide an in-depth, enterprise-wide view of standards and policies that must be adhered to. This benefits regulators as well who will be able to rapidly access and read compliance reports.

From implementation to coordination, visibility, and traceability, EAs can help inform boardroom level decision-making as well as downline measures and processes. This will end up being a cost-saving move and a proactive approach to risk management for organizations.

 

5. Capability-based Planning

 

In a study by the Harvard Business Review during the global recessions in 1980, 1990, and 2000, 9% of organizations were found to have flourished and outperformed their competitors during the recovery period by more than 10% in profit and sales growth. It was posited that the difference lay in how these businesses made contingency plans and were prepared for various scenarios.

This agility is crucial, especially in the wake of not only a global pandemic but a major global economic crisis. Organizations that are poised to make smart investment decisions during economic downturns won’t end up wasting limited resources. This is enabled by EA.

With EA, an organization’s existing capabilities can be mapped out with a focus on a chosen scope, validated by stakeholders and subject matter experts. Enterprise architects can then perform an assessment on the strategic importance of these capabilities and inform changes to future initiatives and technological networks.

 

6. Focus on Customer Experience (CX)

 

The increased focus on customer experience across industries is fueled by consumers being empowered via online platforms. Organizations are paying more attention to delivering better and more personalized experiences that meet individual expectations and needs. This, in turn, leads to the to the rising complexity of an organization’s IT landscape.

Businesses need to leverage architecture tools to help map and understand customer dynamics across multiple channels and quickly adapt to changes in quickly. Mature EA can help organizations identify redundant systems that negatively impact customer experience and identify areas where data can be better shared across systems for a more seamless customer journey.

Enterprise architects can design systems to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of customer-facing processes, enable the development of innovative front-end applications and services, and improve the scalability and reliability of IT systems.

 

7. Emerging Tech

 

Of course, emerging technologies will continue to shape enterprise architecture in the coming years. There are plenty of new technologies and tools that will affect how EA evolves, but the most pressing as follows:

• Machine learning: Much like AI, machine learning will become more prevalent as a means of automating EA tasks such as pattern identification, prediction, and generating actionable recommendations.
• Cybersecurity: Emerging technologies in the realm of cybersecurity such as biometric authentication and decentralized identity access management (IAM) will require enterprise architectures to adapt their designs to ensure stronger security. 
• Mobile Computing: The increased proliferation of mobile devices and applications in this world of remote and hybrid work will require enterprise architects to design IT systems that are mobile-forward, accessible from anywhere, and still secure.
• Internet of Things (IoT): As vast amounts of data continue to be generated by IoT, enterprise architects must design systems that are capable of collecting, storing, and analysing the data to support business functions and achieve organizational goals.
• Extended Reality (XR): This includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). These technologies will enable enterprise architects to design and visualize IT systems and processes in new and innovative ways.
• Blockchain: The use of blockchain technology as a way to create secure, tamper-proof records of transactions and data will be valuable to EA practices.

---