Strayer University

CIS 336

Enterprise Architecture

Key Points

The case study I have chosen is from a company called Dell which is one of the worlds largest manufacturers of personal computers. Founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, the company grew worldwide rapidly rapidly and employing 100,000 people globally. The business problem with Dell was the inevitable creeping diversity issue that had to be tackled head on. Dell initiated a transition from hardware infrastructure to software solutions and services while in the mean time acquiring several other companies. Dell needed to implement a technology base across the board to facilitate transactions no matter which branch of the company was generating the revenue. The company was initially dealing with 12 different order management systems and 27 different interfaces for product and customer data. The goal of the company as well as the IT department was to seamlessly integrate these interfaces together. Dell achieved this integration by consolidating all systems to increase efficiency. This process is described as rationalization which involves understanding the current state of the organizations IT portfolio and business processes, and then mapping business capabilities to IT capabilities (Oracle, 2012).

Enterprise Architecture Components

Dell implemented their enterprise architecture team that included business and information architects, application architects and infrastructure specialists. The team was tasked with rationalizing the the organization based on five key process areas. The process areas were as follows: Develop, Market, Sell, Fulfill, and Support. Each process owner in each area was partnered with an IT associate to come up with ways to support future systems.

Further Value in EA

To provide further value in enterprise architecture to Dell, the organization could implement Management Level architecture in which management levels are defined within the organizational setting and listed as executive, senior and first level management. With clearly defined management, top level executives could relay information accordingly in a waterfall down to lower level management with the use of “kickoff” meetings. In conjunction to management level architecture, Dell could also implement positions which is a named and defined collection of work tasks that can be performed by one or more persons. This ensures that knowledge is not being hoarded by individuals and that work may be completed even when certain people leave the company voluntary or involuntary. One final enterprise architecture component that Dell could utilize is the business information systems component. Business information systems are computer based and since the company is moving away from hardware based systems and towards software solutions and services. The business information system is known by its metabase and its characteristics, its operation lifecycles and its employed databases. Most companies now employ business information systems to maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals in the marketplace. Using business information systems can increase productivity and helps the organization obtain the required knowledge to make informed business decisions. Business information systems also creates a more streamlined procedure to handling business processes and making sure the customer experience is a pleasant one. Dell’s ability to implement a business information system could help them remain competitive in todays market as the continue to restructure.

References

O. (2012, January). IT Transformation at Dell. Retrieved from IT Transformation at Dell

Writer, L. G. (2011, September 16). The Three Fundamental Roles of Information Systems in Business. Retrieved March 04, 2017, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/three-fundamental-roles-information-systems-business-23681.html

5 Key Components of a Successful Enterprise Architecture Function. (2014, August 08). Retrieved March 04, 2017, from https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/08/enterprise-architecture-function.html