Demystifying Enterprise Architecture in an ERP landscape: Who are SAP Enterprise Architects?*
I have been consulting with a client’s Enterprise Architecture team and got around to reflect on questions that I have been asked in other contexts: Who are SAP Enterprise Architects? What (if anything) is different about Enterprise Architecture in a product/ERP landscape?
The client, lets call it MyCorp, is a multi-billion dollar global manufacturing company with a few core lines of businesses. The business and IT operations are managed by geographic units for Latin America, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. MyCorp`s IT is supported by a federated team of Enterprise Architects . As with most multinationals, MyCorp has several “key” ongoing technology and transformational initiatives that the Enterprise Architects are supporting. So what is unique about MyCorp`s Enterprise Architecture focus? Besides the fact that every organization is “unique,” this happens to be a “SAP Shop.” Which is to say the IT application landscape is predominantly a mix of SAP tools and technologies and in pockets where it is not, there is a roadmap to move towards this direction.
