12.29.11
Season of Joy
[Cartoon]
Mergers in business have always been a means of combining the capabilities of two organizations to produce an organization with greater customer value. Unfortunately, since most organizations are fully automated, the merging of IT functions is often the most expensive part of the entire merge event.
The vision of merging organizations having different capabilities is easy to understand. Complementary capabilities combined in a proper manner can produce benefits not possible by having separate organizations.
The problem comes with the logistics of a merger: the elimination of duplicate functions, the potential of staff reductions, the clash of corporate cultures, and the differences in information technology application. In each of these areas there are well-defined approaches and published examples except for the application of information technology.
The problem that arises from merging the two organizations’ IT functions is the uniqueness of each IT function. From an Enterprise Architecture perspective it is highly unlikely that both organizations follow the same methodology. It is highly unlikely that each IT organization uses the same applications or even the same infrastructure components. Even the basic requirement to merge the personnel, payroll, and accounting systems can take months or even years to complete.
The real problem is an Enterprise Architecture problem. Why do Enterprise Architects allow every organization to believe in their uniqueness? It is good to have employees feel that they are special and their organization stands out from the crowd. But, it should not go so far as to produce an air of arrogance that will prevent the reuse of existing concepts and solutions. It should not go so far that a merger may be avoided due to the complexity and cost of merging IT functions.
It is the Enterprise Architect’s job to set the environment for potential mergers. They must provide the leadership towards industry standards and avoid applying duct-tape-solutions. By doing this, the capabilities of two organizations can more easily be merged and bring benefit to those they serve.
The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
