Читать книгу IT Architecture from A to Z: Theoretical basis. First Edition - Vadim Aldzhanov - Страница 7

In the organization grows and develops, the IT department also goes through several stages of its development. Building an Enterprise Architecture one should take into account the maturity level of the entire organization and IT in particular. The following stages and symptoms of the IT department state can be distinguished:

Initial or “localization”

The company rapidly develops or purchases information systems that give value to a particular business unit or function. The main symptoms of this stage of development are:

• IT department is secondary;

• No IT department strategy;

• No IT department budget;

• IT department acts upon request only;

• Managerial staff is concerned in maximum savings;

• Service within the business department (administration, finance) in the organizational structure of the company.

Development or “standardization”

The company moves from closure of the needs of individual business units or functions and increases IT efficiency by standardizing technology and infrastructure. The main symptoms of this stage of development: are:

• The IT department is not a strategic resource;

• No or initial level of IT department strategy;

• No IT department budget or it is managed by the third party;

• IT department hardly acts in IT infrastructure or acts passively (upon request only);

• Managerial staff is concerned in minimum investment;

• Service or department within the business unit (administration, finance) or overseen position in the organizational structure of the company.

Establishment or “optimization”

The company builds end-to-end business processes using common data and information systems. Whenever possible, it centralizes subdivisions’ business processes and functions in centralized information systems according to previously described operational models. The main symptoms of this stage of development are:

• The IT department is important;

• IT department strategy partially meets business requirements;

• Manageable IT department budget;

• IT department responses reactively to business requirements;

• Managerial staff is concerned in getting business benefits in the short term;

• A dedicated department in the organizational structure of the company, but the IT manager is not a part of the board of directors.

Mature

Reuse of existing business processes and components to create new services and opportunities. Proactive IT is an integral part of the business. The main symptoms of this stage of development are:

• The IT department is a strategic organization resource;

• IT department strategy integrated into the company’s business strategy;

• IT department budget considered as business investment;

• IT department acts proactively to business requirements;

• Managerial staff is concerned in long-term business investment;

• IT department is a part of the company’s organizational structure, CIO is a member of the board of directors.

Each of these stages has pros and cons. The IT development stage should correspond to that of the company. Experience has shown that to skip at least one of the stages is difficult since it requires huge amounts of resources (time, money, human resources etc.), and the effect will rather be to the contrary. Most companies grow stage-by-stage. The company transits to the next stage when the leadership of the company realizes or the severity of the issues arisen:

• Issues of supporting the growth and business changes

• Duplication of business processes

• Multiple platforms and systems

• Dissatisfaction with the current IT state.