Enterprise Architecture Repositories

What is enterprise architecture?

In today’s business landscape, the seamless integration of IT and business has become a cornerstone of success. Modern enterprises are heavily reliant on information systems that enable and enhance their (core) business capabilities.

However, achieving business and IT alignment can be a difficult task. This is where the practice of enterprise architecture (sometimes called enterprise architecture management) comes into play, building a bridge between business and IT to steer the natural evolution of the enterprise.

The Essential Project

The Essential Project - The Open-source Alternative to EAM Tools like LeanIX and ADOIT.

Every company looking to establish an Enterprise Architecture (EA) team quickly reaches the point where an enterprise repository becomes indispensable. Initially, it’s common to manage data about the application landscape and its relevance to the business in Excel spreadsheets. However, many companies eventually realize the need for a software solution to model their enterprise architecture.

The same tools frequently come up in discussions, all of which are listed in the Gartner Quadrant for EAM tools. In our projects, we have already worked extensively with the market leaders.

Measuring Enterprise Modernization

Data-Driven Modernization

Enterprises across Europe are undergoing modernization - a process that is crucial to maintaining competitiveness, ensuring security, and increasing efficiency. This is the glossy view of modernization. In reality this is a messy business with digging in old code, making migration plans and dealing with significant resistance within the organization. And this is to such an extent that it becomes difficult to ascertain whether modernization is effectively taking place, except for the lighthouse projects that are under your control. However, managing and tracking the progress of these programs can be achieved. To navigate this issue, we applied a data-driven approach that is measuring aspects of the transformation. Especially the cut-over from legacy applications to newly deployed applications is an interesting measurement.

Quality Models Q42 & ISO25010

Architecture Quality

Quality Models help us to define quality criteria for software and architecture development. There are several different types out there that can be applied in the software and architecture development process.

Why do we need a quality model for architectures?

A quality model is a structured way to align priorities during the conception phase and development of a software system. There might be some aspects that can be negotiable, others not. For example, you can make compromises in quality categories such as #flexibility, while making no compromises in aspects of #security. This quality guidelines help with challenging your own decisions and approaches and allow a reality check. “Do we actually need redundancy in this part of the architecture?”

The Backbone of Data-Driven Decision Making

Reporting Architecture: The Backbone of Data-Driven Decision Making

Reporting architecture is the framework that transforms raw data into actionable insights, empowering organizations to make informed decisions. It integrates data from a variety of sources, including databases, APIs, cloud platforms, and data streaming tools like Kafka. This architecture ensures that data flows seamlessly through three core stages: connection to data sources, analysis within visualization platforms like Power BI and Tableau, and the dissemination of insights across teams and decision-makers. At its heart, reporting architecture combines robust integration processes (ETL/ELT), scalable storage solutions, and intuitive visualization tools, ensuring that organizations can extract, analyze, and share meaningful information. Among these tools, Power BI stands out for its ability to unify these elements, offering a cohesive environment for creating reports and dashboards that bridge the gap between raw data and strategic insights.

IoT in Fluid Storage and Management

IoT in Fluid Storage and Management

This article gives you an overview of an approach to collect measurements in a distributed IoT setup. The challenges of fluid storage and management can be generalized to other IoT use-cases.

In general, storage reservoirs and tanks for water are placed where water is collected not where it is logistically sound to have the water. Remoteness is a constant challenge. In order to monitor such locations we have developed an IoT network to monitor water levels. A network, bolstered by 5G or potentially other technologies such as StarLink, bridges the distance, enveloping our tanks in a secure web of connectivity through VPNs. In the future, the measurement nodes will be run fully off-grid via a solar power supply. This foundational layer of technology ensures a seamless and uninterrupted flow of real-time data, even from the most isolated locations. We have engaged in the journey to develop a fully independent network of sensor nodes.