Enterprise Architecture: Informed Steering of Enterprises in Motion

Enterprises are constantly in motion. Novel technologies, new markets opportunities, cost reduction, process improvement, service innovation, globalisation, mergers, acquisitions, etc., continuously trigger enterprises to change. This variety of change drivers also fuels the need for enterprises to seek the right balance between the many, quite often contradicting, drivers for change. In this position paper, we aim to investigate the potential role of enterprise architecture as a means to support senior management in steering/influencing the direction in which an enterprise “moves” in response to, or in anticipation of, the many change drivers. In doing so, we aim to develop a fundamental understanding of the systemic playing field in which enterprise architecture is to play a role. To this end, we will start by exploring how enterprises can be seen as being continuously “in motion”. We then turn to the control paradigm to reflect on the need to steer this motion. We will also argue that the resulting steering system is a second order information system. Using this understanding we then identify the ingredients needed for enterprise architecture.