2 research outputs found
INTEGRATING MOBILE IT/CLOUD INTO ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Since the year 2000, Enterprise Architecture has been the object of focus as a method for promoting an IT architecture that establishes consistency between corporate business and IT strategies, and it has been applied mostly in global corporations. On the other hand, with the recent progress in Mobile IT technology and Cloud computing, in the IT systems of global corporations, the shift from conventional on premise server-based IT systems to Cloud computing, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Hybrid Cloud, and connected Mobile IT systems, has become more pronounced. In promoting Enterprise Architecture, EA based upon an approach compatible to the cutting-edge IT technologies of Mobile IT/Cloud computing will be required by global corporations. This paper elucidates key points for EA methods to respond to the cutting-edge IT technology that will be required in the future by conducting a comparative analysis of the support environments of Mobile IT elements and related Cloud computing technology in each EA framework currently used widely in many global corporations
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A service driven method for evaluating business and IT alignment
The adoption of Information Technology (IT) in organisations has brought significant benefits to business operations. However, achieving business and IT alignment has been and continues to be a major challenge for researchers and practitioners. The rapid changes in business and IT environments and the influence of social aspects on the business value generated by IT have contributed to its increased complexity. In order to be aware of the state of this alignment, organisations are advised to conduct a business and IT alignment assessment. The outcomes of such assessments provide a platform to achieve a better state of business-aligned IT. However, existing methodological approaches to evaluate business and IT alignment at the operational level have lacked the involvement of social values, to be balanced with other tangible values, as factors in the alignment assessment. Addressing this issue is the motivation for this research.
Guided by the Design Science Research (DSR) paradigm, the Business and IT Alignment Assessment Method (B-ITAAM) is developed as the main research contribution. B-ITAAM comprises, in a novel approach, a set of business analysis techniques that assist for a comprehensive business-aligned IT assessment. Principles and concepts from multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives have been adopted to form the theoretical foundations upon which the assessment method is based. As such, concepts from Strategic Management are adopted to establish a link between the strategic and operational levels of an organisation to guide the alignment assessment. Principles from Socio Technical Systems and Organisational Semiotics form the basis for eliciting social values from relevant stakeholders influencing the value of business and IT. Additionally, principles from Service-Oriented Architecture and Enterprise Architecture enable the evaluation method to be service driven. Finally, principles from Task Technology Fit and Social Exchange theories support, respectively, the establishment and assessment of the business and IT alignment.
B-ITAAM was applied in a higher education institution to evaluate its viability as an effective business and IT alignment assessment method. The application resulted in a set of recommendations that aim to enhance the alignment of a set of business and IT services offered by the institution, which received appraisal from nine experts involved in the institution. The application also reveals the complexity of the business and IT alignment assessment in the higher education sector, which, until now, has received little attention in business and IT alignment research