The current IT landscape has several new emerging trends and technologies. Many of these have progressed beyond the hype-cycle and have moved into implementation mode. In the near-term the following technologies are playing out within the business/technology realm. A detailed map of these emerging technology areas and corresponding technology clusters is provided in Capgemini’s TechnoVision.
All of these technologies provide valuable solutions to current business issues. However, these benefits are multiplied when they are used in conjunction with each other. For example: Using a SaaS based approach for managing Sales is good (Think SalesForce.com). However, if the Sales functions were integrated with the back-end Financial systems in real-time using a SOA based approach; it would provide for much deeper insight in terms of forecasting and budgeting.
The expertise in stitching together new technologies meaningfully has always been a challenge. Enterprise Architects (EA) have been responsible for serving as the bridge between IT and business. Translating business strategy into applications and IT functions that meet those goals. With this new array of emerging technology, and the high-level of overlap between different technology areas, the role of the EA has become even more vital to an organization. The Enterprise Architect role has now extended from not only being the business-IT bridge, but also being the thought leader for an organization. The EA is now responsible for evaluating technology trends and incorporating the right mix of emerging technologies to meet strategic goals. The “mixing” part of an EA’s responsibility is something that has fundamentally changed.
