Enterprise Architecture: Lending: Test 1
Web Based Architecture
web-based architectures: are architectures in which significant hardware software and possibly even data elements reside in the Internet, this offers greater flexibility and uses a source for capacity on demand
concerns regarding bringing your own device work policies
security device compatibility
examples of Enterprise architecture
TOGAF: the open group architecture framework: includes a methodology and set of resources for developing enterprise architecture. It is based on the idea of an open architecture, and architecture specifications are public. It provides a practical standardized methodology to successfully implement an enterprise architecture Zachman framework: determines architectural requirements by providing a broad view that helps guide the analysis of the detailed view. It's perspectives range from the company scope to its critical models and finally the very detailed representations of data, programs, networks, security, and so on. Models that uses her conceptual business model, the logical system model, and the physical technical model
TQM
TQM was created by Edward Demmings uses his 14 points which outlined set of activities for increasing quality and improving productivity
Service oriented architecture
: larger software programs are broken down into services connected to each other in a process called orchestration together they form an application for an entire business process this is a web-based architecture service oriented architectures also known as software as a service which is applications delivered over the Internet known as web services
Network
: software and hardware components, such as switches, hubs, routers, that create a path for communication and data sharing according to a common protocol some networks are private recline credentials to connect others a public
agile processes
Agile processes are designed with the intention of simplifying redesigning reconfiguration they are designed so they are flexible and easily adaptable to the changes in the business environment and can be incrementally changed with little effort ex. manufacturing operations: multiple production lines are reconfigured regularly to accommodate new products
companies that create BPM systems
Applains BPM product includes components to help companies design manage and optimize core business processes softwareAG's Aris: ARIS stands for architecture of integrated information systems and structures for views of the enterprise including an organizational view a data view a functional view and control view another BPM product is created by IBM
architecture principals
Architectural principles any good architectures based on a set of principles of fundamental beliefs about how the architecture should function architectural principles must be consistent with both the values of the enterprise as well as with the technology using the infrastructure their design by considering the key objectives of the organization and then translating those objectives into principles to apply to the design of the IT architecture principal should define the desirable behavior of the IT systems and the role of the organization that supported
what does architecture translate strategy to
Architecture translate strategy into infrastructure
Assessing technical issues with current architecture
Assessing technical issues: adaptability: is impossible to build a static information system to support businesses adaptability is a core design principles readily IT architecture at a minimum the architecture should be able to handle expected technological advances, such as innovations in storage capacity computing power plan for applications and systems that are independent and loosely coupled rather than monolithic set clear boundaries between infrastructure components when designing a network architecture provide access to all users when it makes sense to do so
assessing technical issues including maintainability with implementing new architecture
Assessing technical issues: maintainability: includes issues such as the length of time the system might be out of commission for maintenance, how expensive and how local the parts are, and obsolescence
assessing technical issues including security with implementing new architecture
Assessing technological issues: security: managing security is often a matter of managing risk is virtually impossible to totally secure regardless of the security model employed. Managing rest often means assessing the likelihood of a breach in the cost of that breach in terms of loss and recovery
benefits of virtualization and cloud computing
Benefits of virtualization and cloud computing: can consolidate physical servers possibly eliminate them greatly reducing the physical cost of the data center there are no upgrader maintenance costs no power electricity costs and no physical space needed and no storage service needed. Typically the network is much simpler to since the virtual infrastructure manages the network within all the applications the biggest benefit of virtualization and cloud computing is the speed at which additional capacity for provisioning can be done
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is another term used to describe an architecture based on services provided over the Internet it is based on the concept of a virtual infrastructure where entire computing infrastructures are available in the cloud Saas: software as a service Paas: platform as a service Iaas: infrastructure as a service using the cloud to provide infrastructure means that the cloud is essentially a large cluster of virtual servers or storage devices consumers of cloud computing purchased capacity on the man and are not generally concerned with the underlying technologies it is considered the next step in utility computing: purchasing entire capability on an as needed basis
Data
Data: electronic representation of numbers and text
SAP R/3
Designed to eliminate these inefficiencies by executing process from start to finish consolidating all process data into one database
dynamic processes
Dynamic processes reconfigure themselves as they learn and are utilized in the business Ex network with changing flow data network would have centers billed in the monitor the flow and the flow is greater in the current configuration can handle the network automatically requisitions more capacity to handle the additional data
ERP
ERP makes company information immediately available to all departments ERP 2 makes company information immediately available to extended stakeholders such as customers and partners as well as enables e-business by integrating business processes between enterprise and its trading partners
Enterprise Architecture
Enterprise architecture: the blueprint for all information systems and their interrelationships in the firm enterprise architecture is the term used for organizing logic for the entire organization, often specifying out information technologies will support business processes Enterprise architecture is more about how the company operates and how the technology is designed so building an enterprise architecture is a joint exercise to be done with the business leaders and the IT leaders Enterprise architecture starts with organizational clarity of the vision and strategy and places a high value on consistency and approach as a means of optimal effectiveness
ex of metrics
Ex of metrics: throughput: which is how many outputs can be produced per unit time, cycle time: which is how long it takes for the entire process to execute
Framework to infrastructure
Framework to the infrastructure: framework as three types of questions that must be answered for each infrastructure component What: identify the specific type of technology needed who: understand what individuals groups and departments are involved where: what type of network is operating on
steps from architecture to infrastructure
From architecture to infrastructure the architecture informed the architect of the functions needed by the infrastructure, and functional specification is then created, though specs are then translated the hardware software data protocols, interface designs, and other components that will make up the infrastructure. These functional specifications than help narrow down the technical specifications additional specifications would be created until the entire infrastructure is designed
characteristics of ERP Systems
Integration: ERP systems are designed to seamlessly integrate information flows throughout the company systems are configured by installing various modules such as: manufacturing, accounting, human resources, sales packages: ERP systems are usually commercial packages purchased from software vendors, usually require long-term relationships with software vendors because the system must be modified and upgraded best practices: businesses often have to change the processes in some way to accommodate the software, system software reflect industry best practices for generic business processes some assembly required: ERP system is software that needs to be integrated with the organization hardware Middleware (software used to connect processes running in one or more computers across the network) may be used to make all the components operational and need to be set up evolving: your systems were designed first for mainframe systems than client/server architecture enough or Web-enabled cloud-based delivery
PLM
PLM systems automate the steps that take ideas for products and turn them into real products includes the innovation activities, new product development and management, design, and product compliance PLM systems contain all the information about products such as design, production, maintenance, components, vendors, customer feedback, and marketing
radical change
Radical change enables the organization to attain aggressive improvement goals defined by a set of metrics The goal of radical changes to make a rapid breakthrough impact on key metrics faces greater internal resistance than incremental change
SCM Challenges
SCM challenges: issue of information integration security trust between internal and external entities decision-making issues involving forecasting and replenishment workflow coordination between partners
steps from strategy to architecture
Strategy-> specific goals -> business requirements -> more detailed view of system requirements -> architecture start out with a strategy, then use the strategy to develop more specific goals, then use those goals to create detailed business requirements, translate business requirements into a more detailed view of the system requirements standards and processes that shape the architecture
the production process
The production process involves the actual creation of products within the organization the production process is concerned with acquiring needed materials internally by making them comprised of five steps in two different functional areas of the organization warehouse: request production Production: authorize production warehouse: issue raw material production: create product warehouse: receive finished goods
Enterprise Information Systems
These comprehensive software packages that incorporate all modules need to run the operations of the business are called enterprise information systems are simply enterprise systems EIS's systems include: ERP enterprise resource planning SCM supply chain management CRM customer relationship management PLM product lifecycle management two of the largest vendors of enterprise systems are German based SAP and California-based Oracle
virtualization
Virtualization: where software replaced hardware in a way that a virtual machine or virtual desktop system accessible to provide computing power. Typically computing capabilities storage and networking are provided by third party or group of vendors usually over the Internet or through a private network five core components available virtually over servers storage, backup, network, disaster recovery virtualization enables resources to be shared and allocated as needed by the user and makes maintenance easier
platform
a platform refers to the hardware and operating system on which applications run
when the system should drive architectural change
an organization is just starting out and processes do not exist it is appropriate to begin with an enterprise system as a way to structure operational business processes when an organization does not rely on its operational business processes as a source of competitive advantage in using an enterprise system to redesign these processes is appropriate it is reasonable when the current systems are in crisis and there's not enough time Reese is her knowledge in the firm to fix
challenges for integrating enterprise systems between companies:
as with integrated supply chains there are issues of deciding what to share how to share and what to do with it when the sharing takes place there are also issues of security and agreeing on encryption or other measures to protect data integrity
Assessing Strategic timeframe for implementing new architecture
assessing strategic timeframe: architectural longevity depends not only on the strategic planning horizon but also on the nature of the managers reliance on IT and on specific rate of advances affecting information technologies on which he or she depends
assessing technical issues including standardization with implementing new architecture
assessing technical issues standardization: hardware and software that use a common standard as opposed to a proprietary approach easier to plug into an existing or future infrastructure architecture because interfaces often accompany the standard
assessing technical issues including scalability with implementing new architecture
assessing technical issues: scalability: scalability refers to how well infrastructure component can adapt to increased or decreased demands. A scalable network system is able to go from a few nodes to a few thousand notes allowing the company to have confidence that the firm will not outgrow its infrastructure architecture
business process
business process: a set of tasks or activities that produce desired outcomes. Every process is triggered by some event such as receiving a customer order or recognizing need to increase inventory effective communication and collaboration among departments is essential to the smooth execution of these processes close coordination of work among the people involved is also essential an organization uses many processes to achieve its objectives
Capacity on demand
capacity on demand: the availability of additional processing capability for the company (available through web based architecture)
3 common configurations of IT Architecture
centralized Decentralized Service oriented architecture
CRM
customer relationship management is a set of software programs that support management activities performed to obtain, enhance relationships with, and retain customers CRM includes sales, support, and service processes CRM processes create ways to learn more about customers needs and behaviors with the objective of developing strong relationships three common CRM systems are Oracle SAP salesforce.com Oracle CRM system includes modules for pricing, sales force automation, sales order management, support activities, customer self-service, and service management SAP's CRM has similar modules plus marketing support such as a resource and brand management, campaign management, real-time offer management, loyalty management, and E marketing salesforce started with a CRM solution is a web-based cloud system social IT is increasingly integrated into CRM solutions
diagram tool
diagram tool use understand business processes workflow diagram which shows a picture map of the sequence in detail of each process step the objective of process mapping is to understand and communicate dimensions of the current process process engineers begin the process mapping procedure by defining the scope mission and boundaries of the business process next the engineer develops a high-level overview flow chart of the process in a detailed flow diagram of everything that happens in the process
Dynamic and agile business processes
dynamic business processes and agile business processes: processes that iterate through a constant renewal cycle of design deliver evaluate redesign and so on both require a high degree of IT benefit business processes with operational efficiency gain by the ease of incrementally improving the processes necessary and the ability to create game changing innovation processes more quickly
DMADV
for process design DMADV: define measure analyze design verify: proven system needs to develop new processes or products six Sigma quality levels
enterprise systems
enterprise systems: systems that support end-to-end processes, they are essential to the efficient and effective execution and management of business process enterprise systems effectively manage a business process from end to end in an integrated consistent and highly efficient manner it can be monitored and improved very easily
It infrastructure
everything that supports the flow and processing of information in an organization this includes hardware software data and network components it consists of components chosen and assembled in a manner that best suits the plan and therefore that enables the overarching business strategy it is the actual pieces used to create an information system Infrastructure is more than just components the assembly is important, the hardware software data and networks must be combined in a coherent pattern to have a viable infrastructure
financial accounting process
financial accounting processes track the financial impacts of process steps with the goal of meeting legal reporting requirements external accounting: reporting the financial impacts of processes
understanding existing architecture
first step is to assess the current situation. Understanding existing IT architecture allows the manager to evaluate the IT requirements of an evolving business strategy against the current IT capacity. He architecture rather than the infrastructure is the basis for this evaluation objectively analyze the existing architecture and infrastructure objectively analyze the strategies served by the existing architecture objectively analyze the ability of the existing architecture and infrastructure to further the current strategical
Six SIgma: DMAIC
for process improvement DMAIC: define measure analyze improve control: is the proven system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for incremental improvement
hardware
hardware: the physical components that handle computation storage or transmission of data
Human capital management process
human capital management process focus on people within the organization and include functions such as recruiting hiring training and benefit management consists of numerous processes related to all aspects of managing people and organizations HCM touches every process in the organization
manage processes by
identifying the customers of processes identifying these customers requirements clarifying the value that each process at the overall goals of the organization sharing their perspectives with their organizational members until the organization itself becomes more process focused
functional hierarchical organization structure cont.
in a hierarchical structure departments organized on the basis of the core competencies this creates silos, silos: self-contained functional units useful for several reasons allows organization optimize expertise and their training allow the organization to avoid redundancy and expertise by hiring one person can be assigned to projects across functions on an as-needed basis easier to benchmark with outside organizations, utilize bodies of knowledge created for each function, and easily understand the role of each silo
incremental change
incremental change: managers improve business processes small and rental changes choose business process to improve choose the metric by which to measure the business process enable personnel involved with the process to find ways to improve it based on the metric personnel often react favorably to incremental change because it gives them control and ownership of improvements and therefore lenders change less threatening
information systems and change
information systems enable change information systems can also inhibit change information systems can also drive change transformation requires discontinuous thinking, reorganizing, and shedding outdated rules and fundamental assumptions that underlie operations
perks of information systems
information systems have allowed management to reduce the problems of: handing off data from one system or process to another having workers work from different databases having workers work from old databases
enterprise systems cont.
information technology is a critical component of most every business process today because information flows at the core of every process enterprise systems: a class of information system tools that many organizations use to enable this information flow within and between processes across your organization they help ensure integration and coordination across functions
Challenges of ERP
integrating ERP packages with other software and a firm is often a major challenge second problem is to integrate ERP's transaction driven focus into a firm's workflow
Management accounting process
management accounting or controlling process focus on internal reporting to manage costs and revenues internal accounting: tracking costs and revenues for internal reporting that is intended to help management control costs and revenues and assess the profitability of various products and market segments
SCM
manages the integrated supply chain with the help of information technologies many processes are linked across companies with a common process a customer supplier creating an integrated supply chain supply chain of the business of the process that begins with raw materials and ends with a product or service ready to be delivered (or in some case actually delivered) to a customer it may also include product design, product planning, contract management, logistics, and sourcing
material planning process
material planning process uses historical data and sales forecast plan which materials will be procured and produced in what quantities the purpose of material planning is to match the supplied materials with the demand this is based on external factors the supply of materials as a function of many internal factors as well as external factors the outcome of material planning is the development of strategic and operational plans that match supply with demand as closely as possible inventory and warehouse management process used to store and track materials closely integrated with procurement production and fulfillment
Consumerization of IT
onsumerization of IT: the drive to port applications to personal devices and ensuing issues
organizations existence
organizations exist either to serve some commercial purpose to achieve some social objective, they differ depending on the purpose or goal they are trying to achieve, their ownership or management structure, and the regulatory environment in which they operate. Achieving the organization's objectives involves many different types of work regardless of the type or size successful organizations and industries use processes and enterprise systems to complete the work needed to achieve their goals
peer to peer architecture
peer-to-peer architecture: allows networked computers to share resources without a central server playing a dominant role
process perspective
process perspective: keep the big picture in view allows the manager to concentrate on the work that must be done to ensure the optimal creation of value process perspective helps the manager to avoid or reduce duplicate work, facilitate cross functional communication, optimize business processes, and ultimately that serve the customers and stakeholders focus on the process by its very nature ensures a focus on the business is going process perspective recognizes that processes are often cross functional when managers take a process perspective they are able to optimize value to customers and stakeholders receive by managing the flow as well as the tasks
process
process: defined as an interrelated sequential set of activities and taciturn inputs and outputs include the following: beginning and end inputs and outputs set of tasks (subprocesses or activities) that transform the inputs and outputs a set of metrics for measuring effectiveness: metrics are important because they focus managers on the critical dimensions of the process
procurement process
procurement process: refers to all of the activities involved in buying or acquiring the material used by the organization such as raw material needed to make products the procurement process is concerned with obtaining needed materials externally comprised of five steps that are completed three different functional areas of the organization warehouse: create purchase requisition purchasing: great consent purchase order warehouse: receive materials accounting: receive invoice accounting: send payment
Project management process
project management processes used to plan and execute large projects such as the construction of a new factory or the production of complex products such as airplanes the first of the process of a company uses to plan and execute large-scale processes projects align resources and capabilities available in other processes
project
project: is temporary in nature and is typically associated with large complex activities such as construction of a factory or an aircraft
4 phases of projects
projects have four phases: planning: scope of project defined milestones set budgeting: accounting processes to calculate and allocate the resources needed to execute the project, product is not executed until management approves the budget execution: needed processes are triggered ex procurement and production, in addition accounting processes are used to keep track of costs and revenues and for external projects to issue customer invoices settlement (payment): assign costs and revenues the appropriate parties
It Architecture
provides blueprint for translating business strategy into a plan for information systems IT architecture includes plans for data and information technology (the standard to be followed in the infrastructure that provides the foundation) , and the applications we accessed via the company IT system
assessing financial issues with implementing new architecture
quantify costs determine anticipated lifecycles of system components quantify benefits quantify risks consider ongoing dollar cost and benefits
Two techniques are used to transform business processes:
radical process redesign: business process reengineering incremental continuous process improvement: total quality movement, six Sigma the basis of both approaches is viewing the business as a set of business processes rather than silo perspective
issues with silos
redundancy of information maintained by many departments communication gaps between departments issue of loss of handoff of information between silos silos lose sight of the objective of the overall organization and operate in a way that maximizes their local goals losing the big picture means losing effectiveness
disadvantages of enterprise systems
require a lot of work to implement very expensive databases may be hard to integrate some level of customization is not possible can give up a competitive advantage through generic processes requires organization to alter their structure must reengineer business processes
risks of virtualization and cloud computing
risks of virtualization and cloud computing: the dependence on a third-party supplier, retooling existing applications to the cloud infrastructure
silo effect
silo effect enabled companies to cope with challenges generated by rapid growth, but over time the system developed serious drawbacks people in different functional areas perform their steps in the process in isolation without fully understanding what steps after before or after other steps causing them to lose sight of the big picture of the larger process
six sigma
six Sigma is another incremental approach to quality management it is data driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects were process name means there should be 3.4 defects for every 1 million units produced very specific set of steps to be followed:
tasks
specific steps needed to complete the process steps
asset management process
the asset management and customer service process used to maintain internal assets such as machinery and to deliver after sales customer service such as repairs concerned with preventative and corrective maintenance to equipment concerned with repairing items customers of bought
triggers
the events that cause process steps to be initiated
fulfillment process
the fulfillment process consists of all the steps involved in selling and delivering the product the organizations customers comprised of six steps in three different functional areas of the organization sales: receive customer purchase order sales: create sales order warehouse: prepare shipment (pick and pack) warehouse: send shipment new line accounting: create and send invoice accounting: receive payment
Decentralized
the hardware software networking and data are arranged in a way that distributes the processing and functionality between multiple small computers, servers, and devices rely heavily on a network to connect them together typically uses server-based architecture: numerous servers often located in different physical locations
data
the information associated with each process step
lifecycle management process
the lifecycle data management process supports the design and development of products from the initial product idea stage through the discontinuation of the product provides a set of tools to manage product design and improvement throughout the lifecycle of a product starts with an idea or concept development progresses through production marketing and service includes when the product is discontinued from the market enables an organization to optimize its product development process design the market while ensuring that it complies with industry quality and regulatory standards
main concern of data
the main concern of data is the quantity format and how often it must be transferred from one piece of hardware to another or translated from one format to another
benefits of enterprise systems
the major benefit of an enterprise system is that all modules of the information system easily communicate with each other because of the focus on integration enterprise systems are useful tools for an organization seeking to centralize operations in decision-making the effective use of one organizational database can reinforce the use of standard procedures across different locations
Managers role in IS implementation
the manager must understand what to expect from IT architecture and infrastructure must be able to effectively communicate business vision to IT architects
fundamental organization structure
the most common organizational structure organizations are divided in the functions, or departments, each of which is responsible for set of closely related activities typical functions or departments: purchasing, operations, warehouse, sales and marketing, research and development, finance and accounting, human resources, and information systems the integrated business processes that company use to perform their work cut across the silos horizontally. They are cross functional: meaning no single group or function is responsible for their execution rather it is a shared responsibility among many functional areas thus for process to be successfully completed the company must rely on each functional group to execute individual steps in the process in a coordinated way
Managers difficulties in implementation
the number of choices available the speed of technology
SAP Software
the pioneer in enterprise systems first integrated end to end enterprise system called SAP R/3 SAP was the first company to build packaged enterprise system, which means it designed a single piece of software that is used by many companies prior to SAP software developers had to create customized software for every company what was extremely expensive
outcomes
the specific product or consequences of the process step
How Enterprise architecture and IT architecture differ
they differ on the level of analysis IT identifies the core processes of the company and how they work together, and how the IT system will support these processes, the standard technical capabilities and activities for all parts of the enterprising guidelines for making choices components of an enterprise architecture typically include four key elements: core business processes: the key enterprise processes that create the capabilities of the company use to execute its operating modeling create market opportunities shared data: the data that drives the core processes linking and automation technologies: software hardware networking technologies provide the links between applications customer groups: key customers to be served by the architecture
business process management
to have truly dynamic or agile business processes requires a well-defined and optimized set of IT processes tools and skills BPM systems go way beyond the document management capabilities and include features that manage person-to-person process steps, system to system steps, and those processes that include a combination tool allows an organization to actively manage and improve its processes from beginning to end BPM systems are way to build execute and monitor automated processes that may go across organizational boundaries
when the system should not drive architectural change
when the system derives its strategic advantage through its operational business processes is not usually advisable to buy vendors enterprise system when the features of available packages and the needs of the business do not fit would result from a lack of top management support company growth desire for strategic flexibility or decentralized decision-making that render the enterprise system in appropriate
Centralized
where everything is purchased purchase supported and managed centrally in a data center, to eliminate the difficulties that come with managing a distributed infrastructure
Wireless infrastructure
wireless (mobile) infrastructures allow communication from remote locations using a variety of wireless technologies
workflow software
workflow software facilitates the design of business processes and creates digital workflow diagrams workflow diagrams answer questions such as: how will the process work who does what what information system will do and what decisions will be made and by whom
workflow
workflow: his way to look at cross functional processes in the most basic meeting as the series of connected tasks and activities done by people and computers that together form a business process has also come to mean software products that document and automate processes