​Having a clear understanding of an organization's technology landscape and how technology can help achieve business goals is crucial in today's rapidly changing business environment. To ensure alignment between technology and business strategy, organizations need an Enterprise Architecture (EA) group. An EA group is responsible for defining and managing an organization's technology architecture, making sure it supports strategic goals. In this article, we'll explore the importance and benefits of building an EA group and provide guidance on how to establish one within an organization.

When it comes to building an EA group, it's important to start with a clear understanding of your organization's business strategy and goals. This will help you identify the technology capabilities that are needed to support those goals and develop a roadmap for building out your EA capabilities.

Defining Strategic Goals
​Defining strategic goals is a critical step for any organization in achieving its long-term success. Here are some common steps that companies take to define their strategic goals:

1. Mission and vision statements: Companies often start by defining their mission and vision statements, which provide a clear purpose and direction for the organization. The mission statement describes what the company does, while the vision statement outlines where the company wants to be in the future.
2. SWOT analysis: Companies perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to identify internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. This analysis helps the company to determine where it stands in the market and identify potential areas for improvement.
3. Market analysis: Companies also conduct market analysis to understand their target market, customer needs, and competitors. This analysis helps the company to identify opportunities to differentiate itself and create a competitive advantage.
4. Goal-setting: Once the company has a clear understanding of its mission, vision, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, it can set strategic goals. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), and aligned with the company's mission and vision.
5. Implementation plan: To achieve these strategic goals, the company should develop an implementation plan. The plan should outline the specific actions required to achieve the goals, including timelines, responsibilities, and resources required.
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Remember that defining strategic goals is an ongoing process that requires regular review and adjustment based on changes in the business environment. It is important for companies to regularly assess their progress towards their goals and make necessary adjustments to stay on track.

Once you have a clear understanding of your organization's strategic goals, you can begin to identify the stakeholders who will be involved in the EA group and define their roles and responsibilities. This may include business leaders, IT leaders, architects, and other key stakeholders.

Next, you'll want to develop an EA framework that outlines the principles, standards, and guidelines that will govern your organization's technology architecture. This framework should be aligned with your organization's strategic goals and should provide guidance for technology teams on how to develop and implement technology solutions that support those goals.

Some Examples or EA Frameworks are the following:
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1. The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF): This is one of the most widely-used EA frameworks and provides a comprehensive approach to enterprise architecture. It includes a set of tools, techniques, and best practices for developing and implementing enterprise architectures.
2. Zachman Framework: This framework was developed by John Zachman in the 1980s and provides a structured approach to organizing and defining an enterprise's architecture. It consists of a matrix of six perspectives (who, what, where, when, why, and how) and six rows (scope, business model, system model, technology model, detailed representations, and working systems).
3. Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA): This framework was developed by the US Federal government and provides a standardized approach to enterprise architecture across government agencies. It includes a set of reference models that cover different aspects of enterprise architecture, including business, data, service, and technology.
4. Gartner EA Framework: This framework was developed by Gartner and provides a structured approach to enterprise architecture that focuses on business outcomes. It includes a set of tools and techniques for developing and implementing an enterprise architecture that is aligned with business strategy.
5. The Open Unified Process (OpenUP): This framework is a lightweight, agile approach to enterprise architecture that is based on the principles of the Unified Process. It provides a set of guidelines and best practices for developing and implementing an enterprise architecture that is flexible and adaptable to changing business needs.
   
   

These are just a few examples of the many EA frameworks that are available. The choice of framework will depend on the specific needs and goals of the organization, as well as the industry and regulatory environment in which it operates.

​The most popular Enterprise Architecture (EA) framework is the Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF). There are a few reasons why TOGAF is so widely used:

I am really not sure how to start this blog. This one is different from all my previous blogs about technology. To be honest, I’m feeling a little scared, but I feel like this will be cathartic for me and maybe, in some way, reach someone going through what I did. So, with a deep breath, here I go.

Let me start with a bit of background. Before covid hit, I was very active in different tech communities. You see, I love what I do, and I love technology. I love to learn and share new ideas with others. I love to teach and mentor. I love seeing the impact on someone’s career that I may have played a small part in shaping. I love interacting with other peers within the industry and learning from them. I have made many friends through these communities.

One in particular that I am passionate about is the VMware User Group or VMUG. I have had the honor of being a leader in this community for ten-plus years now. VMware reshaped my career path, and I’ll never forget the first time I was able to dive into their virtualization platform back around 3.x. Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t meant to be a VMware kiss-butt blog, but the impact they had on my career drove a deep excitement to share what I was learning with others in this community, and the same can be said today. This passion was felt within the community, and we grew. At one point, I led multiple VMUGs within Central New York and blogged at every chance I could.

Others noticed this passion, and I took on a new role as a pre-sales architect. I could now speak to customers about this passion and so many others. At one point, I even took on the role of Citrix User Group Leader and Veeam User Group Leader. I was onsite with customers almost daily and planning the subsequent community events with my peers.

While at Sirius, now CDW, I took on the VMware Technology Brand Owner role. I traveled all over the country, teaching pre-sales engineers, post-sales delivery, and client executives about our strategy and how to grow their VMware business. I loved every minute of it. I felt alive and passionate, and I felt valued.

My family at home supported me, and when I was home, I made the most of my time with them to ensure they felt valued. I have some of the most amazing children. My oldest loves horses: my middle son lives, eats, and breathes hockey. My youngest daughter lives on Jesus and sugar. She never walks but dances her way through life. My Wife is a literal saint. I couldn’t do what I do without her tremendous support and encouragement. You must be wondering what in the world my point is. Brandon, it sounds like life is peachy, and everything sounds great. You have a successful career and a healthy family.