On December 5th, 2024, the Zurich Enterprise Architecture community gathered at the city’s FIVE Hotel for an afternoon of collaborative learning and insight sharing.
The event featured our CEO Erik Bakstad presenting his thoughts on "Reimagining Enterprise Architecture," as well as a compelling fireside chat on "Riding the Wave of Innovation" with Brandon Wilkins, VP of Account Management at Ardoq, and Ben Clinch, Partner at Ortecha. The day's agenda peaked with James Tomkins, Senior Enterprise Architect at Ardoq, sharing his vision on "The Future of Enterprise Architecture."
Erik Bakstad, Ardoq's Chief Executive Officer, on stage at our Zurich EA Community Event.
Ben Clinch, Partner at Ortecha, and Brandon Wilkins, VP Global Account Management, Ardoq at the event's Fireside Chat.
While these presentations set the stage for engaging ideas and experience sharing, some of the most valuable insights from the event came from our interactive roundtable discussions. These brought together EA practitioners, industry experts, and leaders to explore pressing challenges and opportunities in Enterprise Architecture.
In this post, we'll dive into key takeaways from discussions tackling three critical topics: Breaking Down Silos, Leveraging AI in Enterprise Architecture, and Technical Debt.
Explore other key presentations from the event.
Breaking Down Silos: The Path to Strategic Partnership
Enterprise architects are increasingly moving away from traditional "order-taker" roles to become strategic partners in business decision-making. However, this transformation comes with its own challenges and opportunities, as discussed in this session.
Communication is Key to Breaking Silos
Many organizations struggle with communication gaps between EA teams and business units. The solution isn't simply technical – it requires a fundamental shift in how Enterprise Architects demonstrate the value of EA and communicate it in a way the business understands.
Some solutions discussed to address this include:
- Building trust with a few key stakeholders in the business to act as champions for EA.
- More actively using and engaging business analysts.
- Sourcing EAs with a business background to complement the IT backgrounds EAs usually have.
Resource Allocation and C-Level Support
A recurring theme in this discussion was the challenge of securing resources for new tools and gaining C-level support for EA initiatives. Success stories showed that when Enterprise Architects are integrated into strategic units and involved in early-stage decision-making, they can more effectively demonstrate value and secure the necessary support.
AI in Enterprise Architecture
AI is more than just hype—it’s here to stay and will transform how EAs work. This session generated passionate discussion about how AI can be applied to Enterprise Architecture and the expectations it creates.
Current State of AI Implementation
Organizations are carefully considering how they use AI, with many choosing an experimental approach. Our participants revealed that they had 300 AI initiatives in progress across their organizations, 70% of which stemmed from proof of concepts.
Data Quality: The Foundation for AI Success
The effectiveness of AI solutions heavily depends on data quality. The "garbage in, garbage out" principle resonated strongly with everyone, emphasizing the need for structured, high-quality data to produce the best results.
Human-Centric Approach to AI
While AI shows promise in augmenting EA capabilities, participants emphasized the continued importance of human oversight. A balanced approach is needed to combine AI with human judgment and expertise.
For more insight into how organizations are handling AI, read our CIO report about emerging technology adoption.
Technical Debt
Technical debt can have an incredibly impactful effect on organizations, regardless of industry or scale. This session focused on how participants managed, prioritized, and addressed technical debt to ensure sustainable growth and transformation.
James Tomkins, Senior Enterprise Architect at Ardoq, and Krishan Thangavadivel, Senior Customer Success Manager at Ardoq, facilitated the Technical Debt discussion.
Documenting Technical Debt
Documenting technical debt is critical for risk management, cost reduction, and ensuring smoother integration during mergers or large-scale transformations. Without proper documentation, tech debt can lead to significant inefficiencies and hinder progress.
We discovered that some participants have moved toward integrating technical debt management into their existing IT asset documentation processes, ensuring it becomes a seamless part of ongoing workflows rather than a separate initiative.
Raising Awareness Across the Organization
It’s important to educate the wider organization about the risks associated with technical debt, as it doesn’t just affect the tech team. While technical risk reduction is often a primary reason to reduce technical debt, it can also lead to broader issues in the business, impacting areas such as innovation and operational resilience.
Participants highlighted how focusing on these areas' long-term impact can help secure top-down support. Transparency and clear communication are also important for gaining organizational buy-in to address technical debt.
It’s important to secure leadership involvement at an early stage. This ensures alignment and can help overcome resistance to addressing technical debt.
Data-Driven Approach
Managing technical debt effectively requires accurate, consistent data. Participants noted a strong correlation between poor ownership of applications and higher levels of technical debt. Ensuring accurate, consistent data builds trust and supports effective decision-making.
“The Zurich Event highlighted the real power of collaboration. Sharing challenges and solutions in a community like this reinforces how Enterprise Architecture drives meaningful change.”
Ben Clinch, Partner, Ortecha
Looking Ahead
Our Zurich EA community event highlighted that Enterprise Architecture is at a crucial juncture. As organizations grapple with digital transformation and AI adoption, the role of the Enterprise Architect is evolving from technical specialist to strategic partner. Success in this new era requires:
- Early involvement in business decision-making processes.
- Strong communication channels between EA teams and business units.
- A balanced approach to AI adoption, focusing on practical applications.
- Continuous focus on data quality and structured information management.
- Cultural transformation to support centralized Enterprise Architecture initiatives.
- A strategic approach to managing technical debt, integrating documentation processes into ongoing workflows, and raising organizational awareness about its risks and costs.
The insights from these roundtable discussions demonstrated that the EA community is committed to addressing these challenges head-on, maintaining a pragmatic approach to innovation and transformation, and balancing risk with reward.
James Tomkins, Senior Enterprise Architect at Ardoq, shares his vision for “The Future of Enterprise Architecture.”
