A framework for measuring the value of enterprise architecture in South African telecommunications organizations

Abstract

Enterprise Architecture (EA) has gained popularity as an enabler for rapid organizational change with regard to controlling, optimizing and complexity management. It is thus regarded as organizations’ blueprint for adaptability, change, evolution and therefore growth. However, its mere deployment would not necessarily yield favorable results; instead, results may vary from one organization to another. This necessitates investigations on organizations’ readiness prior to the deployment of EA as well as appropriate mechanisms for monitoring its value during deployment and its impact post-deployment. We hereby, propose a framework for measuring the value of EA in organizations with focus on the telecommunication industry within South Africa. It is shown from case studies that the framework could help organizations not only to make an informed decision on whether to deploy EA or not, but also to constantly monitor its benefits (if any) during its deployment and beyond.