Twenty years after the first publications and books on enterprise architecture, the domain is evolving from a technology-driven towards a more business-driven approach, thus empowering decision makers to adapt and transform an enterprise in order to keep up with changing business needs. At the same time the discipline of enterprise architecting has matured, leading to a better understanding of the profession of an enterprise architect. With this book, the authors aim to provide an overview of enterprise architecture including the process of creating, applying and maintaining it, thus taking into account the perspectives of CxOs, business managers, enterprise architects, solution architects, designers and engineers. They explore the results that are produced as part of an enterprise architecture, the process by which these are produced, and the role the architect plays in this process. As such, they do not describe a specific method for developing an enterprise (IT) architecture, nor do they define a specific modeling language for enterprise architecture, rather they offer the reader a fundamental way of thinking about enterprise architecture, which will enable him to select and apply the right approach, architecture framework and tools that meet the objective and context of the architecture work at hand. This approach is emphasized by discussion statements at the end of each chapter, sparking thoughts about benefits, shortcomings, and future research directions. Covering both theoretical foundations and practical use, and written in close collaboration between industry professionals and academic lecturers, Enterprise Architecture thus offers an ideal introduction for students in areas like business information systems or management science, as well as guidance and background for professionals seeking a more thorough understanding of their field of work.

Martin Op ’t Land is Principal Consultant and Enterprise Architect at Capgemini and has over 16 years of experience in the field of enterprise architecture, mostly in the finance and public sectors. In addition, he is involved in research in the field of enterprise engineering and architecting. His current research focuses on methods for splitting and allying organizations.

Erik Proper is Principal Consultant at Capgemini and Professor in Information Systems at the Radboud University Nijmegen. He has a mixed industrial and academic background. His interests lie mainly in the field of conceptual modeling, enterprise modeling, enterprise engineering and enterprise architecting. He was co-initiator of the ArchiMate project, and currently also serves on the board of the ArchiMate foundation as well as the Netherlands Architecture Forum (NAF).

Maarten Waage is Enterprise Architect at Capgemini. He has over 10 years of experience in creating and applying enterprise architecture, mostly in the context of complex business/IT transformations of large organizations (both profit and not-for-profit).

Jeroen Cloo is Senior Consultant and Enterprise Architect at SeederDeBoer. With a degree in Technology Management, he started as a consultant over 10 years ago. He has been involved in multiple enterprise architecture engagements in different sectors.

Claudia Steghuis is Senior Consultant at Capgemini, with about 2 years of experience in enterprise architecture.