Horizon architecture: Business strategy activation

Why businesses need an architecture strategy

The technology architecture of an enterprise is fundamental to its business and technology strategy—both must work in tandem to drive operational efficiency and growth. In part 1 of our Horizon Architecture (HA) series, we explored how many board and C-suite members are just beginning to shift their attention toward architecture, not fully realizing its critical role in well-crafted enterprise strategies. As technologies are evolving rapidly and becoming more integral to organizational DNA, the need for strategic conversations on technology architecture and its modernization, design, development, and maintenance also becomes highly important. It is also, surprisingly, one of the least understood forcing functions.

In part 1, we also discussed how companies that have faced significant technology challenges share a few common characteristics: a poorly defined and passively governed architecture function, and insufficient executive and board-level oversight.

In part 2, we dig deeper into the eight defining characteristics of HA that set the stage for an innovative and interoperable architecture. We also demonstrate ways to select, evaluate, and apply relevant characteristics when undergoing common transformative events such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) divestiture and cloud transformation.