Abstract
Misalignment between the business and IT function is an inhibitor in the achievement of competitive advantage. Enterprise Architecture (EA) promises organizational benefits including a closer alignment between IT and business. There is some argument about the true value that EA can provide. Some organizations credit their EA with creating significant value while other EA programmes fail. In response to this we explore whether EA fulfil their purpose in reducing the gap between IT and business. We conducted a case study of five companies that had EA functions. While we found that EA does not make alignment between IT and business more difficult, we did identify that many businesses do not achieve the purported benefits of EA because of poorly executed EA. We propose a four-stage maturity model for EA that encompasses the characteristics of EA, the ‘soft skills’ needed, and the business benefits available at each stage of maturity.
Recommended Citation
Robertson, Edward; Peko, Gabrielle; and Sundaram, David, "Enterprise Architecture Maturity: A Crucial Link in Business and IT Alignment" (2018). PACIS 2018 Proceedings. 308.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2018/308