Abstract

“New paradigms have emerged in Information Systems discipline that leverages the value of Information Technology planning and management. Corporate governments adopt Enterprise Architecture (EA), as a strategy for aligning business goals and information systems strategy so IT resources may become effective. IT management and future investments are challenging for many institutions due to the devolved nature of the institution. IT resources need to be effectively coordinated. The UK HE sector is currently faced with such challenge. Higher educational institutions are adopting modern approaches in addressing fundamental changes that include constrained funds, and improving students and stakeholder demand. EA helps an organisation manage its IT resources by aligning the IT strategy with the business strategy, so that IT becomes a worthy investment. This study will determine the current approach towards EA and its interpretation as an IS planning practice in UK higher institutions. This paper reviews current literature and uses qualitative methods to analyse the data collected. Data used for this study include transcripts from interviews, data from workshops cum focus groups, and reports from five institutions in the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), funded pilot study. The results from this qualitative analysis show that EA represents a new IT management innovation in the HE sector that would help senior management decision making, help departments share reusable resources and ensure IS departments become more successful by looking at how IS impacts on an organisation's strategy. The paper concludes with identification of key issues emerging in the adoption of this approach in the context.”

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