The history books would, no doubt show that Enterprise Architecture has grown up out of the world of IT. Architecting IT for the enterprise and considering all aspects of people, data, application and infrastructure.

The business architect (a critical EA domain) focus would be based on the business need and how to translate that into the data, application and infrastructure design.

Those in the business architecture space and those more obsessed with the most macro definition of the Enterprise have long since been stretching into the world of business change (beyond the system and getting involved in the organisation design to maximise technology adoption changing ways of working.)

As the world of IT has started to “embrace” the digital business and more organisations business model move to platforms for the “community” the focus of the traditional architect has started to change.

There is definitely a shift. It is moving to architecting for the “community” rather than for the “enterprise”. Everyone-you talk to will say there are a whole new set of considerations that a “platform” business needs to consider from an IT perspective.

The thing is – as business scale up their platforms or move to a digital business there are many “business scenarios” that have to be redesigned.

As traditional business transform into platform businesses there is an increasing need to “redesign”, “re-architect” the “bricks and mortar” operating model of the past.

There is a real need to remodel the sales and service operations to move onto the digital model. These changes go way beyond structure charts and process changes. Consideration to what people do not how they do it and the new roles emerging to deal with the configuration of the digital tech.

The roles between tech and business continue to merge. More than ever there are significant changes happening to the operating model and across the enterprises and into the broader “community”

Is this creating a new role for an Enterprise Architect or is it creating a new role in Enterprise Design.?

Is the role better served by business savvy technologists or technical savvy Organisationalists(is there such a world)

In some ways the job title is irrelevant. What is important is that change programmes, initiatives embrace both the significant changes in the IT landscape to move to a platform business and also the significant changes in the Organisational design as many of the traditional functions embrace the new digital models?

Is your organisation changing, embracing digital? Who is leading the Organisational change ?