Compromises are inevitable in larger transitions. After all, you’re doing an incremental journey. To figure out which of the compromises are pragmatic steps and which of them are simply in the wrong direction, you need a clear picture of the business goals behind the Agile transition.

[From the Editor: In 2012, Senior Consultant Lee Devin wrote about industrial thinking and methods (see  "Artful and Industrial Making"). His words continue to ring true today. We share his message again here.]

Due to its ability to view an enterprise through a common lens, business architecture offers unique insights into the impact and viability of various business strategies and requirements.

One of the most sinister threats impacting data security and protection today is ransomware, which works by infiltrating an organization's systems and encrypting sensitive files and data. The data is then held for ransom by hackers who demand payment—typically in Bitcoin or some other digital currency — before they turn over the key required for its decryption.

This Executive Update, Part I in a series of three, explores (and debunks) the traditional notions of business/IT alignment and offers a more pragmatic approach to keeping IT in sync with business objectives through business capabilities. It also considers the critical role that enterprise architecture (EA) can play in this process.

Understanding how to become Agile starts with understanding the kind of work your organization performs.

For many practices, it’s a change in lexicon or technology that make them new “flavors,” but the underlying principles remain the same. We need to embrace our teams. We need to identify what we expect of them, and give them the tools and capacity to accomplish their goals. Read between the lines of virtually any new approach, and there should be signs of an homage to what’s been done in the past (and done well).

In this insightful on-demand webinar, Cutter Senior Consultant Barry Devlin describes a modern, comprehensive information architecture that combines the best of current data warehousing approaches and facilitates integration of cutting-edge systems. Not a member? Contact us to view the webinar.

This Executive Update focuses on how the Internet of Things and blockchains are at the front of a broad shift toward decentralization that involves moving computing power and information ownership to the edge, while bringing more control to consumers and end devices. As such, the onus for leading this shift lies on the user communities and influential consumers (e.g., large businesses, federal governments, city councils) rather than the ven­dors themselves. Realizing this technology shift is going to be as challenging as the opportunity it presents. The economic potential can be tapped gainfully only if the barriers are addressed holistically by all relevant stakeholders. The tipping point for mass adoption will be reached when the availability of common standards and ubiquitous communication infrastructure enables a compelling value proposition for consumers and viable business models for technology providers.

This Executive Update focuses on how the Internet of Things and blockchains are at the front of a broad shift toward decentralization that involves moving computing power and information ownership to the edge, while bringing more control to consumers and end devices. As such, the onus for leading this shift lies on the user communities and influential consumers (e.g., large businesses, federal governments, city councils) rather than the ven­dors themselves. Realizing this technology shift is going to be as challenging as the opportunity it presents. The economic potential can be tapped gainfully only if the barriers are addressed holistically by all relevant stakeholders. The tipping point for mass adoption will be reached when the availability of common standards and ubiquitous communication infrastructure enables a compelling value proposition for consumers and viable business models for technology providers.

Managers must make decisions in conditions of greater uncertainty and complexity, face contradictory requirements and meet conflict head-on in order to reach our goals. This workshop with Jorge Ronchese will look at the new challenges traditional management faces, including:

Join Bob Benson, Diana Larsen, Michael Mah, Masa Maeda, and Bhuvan Unhelkar to address the lingering question: does the investment in Agile methodologies actually produce real business value?

A workshop focusing on the organizational and business advantages that can be achieved with Digital Data Streams.

There are many possible collaboration opportunities companies might pursue, but for the purposes of this article, I have elaborated three healthcare-related scenarios. The first involves using information within the personal cloud as a way to monitor conditions and trigger certain actions. The second looks for new ways to collaborate by sharing information in the course of a particular care encounter. The last is a common scenario in healthcare where either historical data or enhanced information is sought for research purposes.

Many corporations have been doing cloud computing seriously for several years. For example, Proctor & Gamble (P&G), Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Allergan, and Sears Roebuck & Company (Sears) have already moved from adoption to the next stage of use and beyond. Seeing the IT function as a strategic partner, senior business executives in these companies, together with their CIOs, business systems thinkers, and relationship builders, have identified how cloud computing deployment can align with dynamic business strategy over time and how it can be operationalized, including with external service providers, for strategic business advantage.

Agile has been “officially” around for more than 15 years; at its start, the purpose was to overhaul software delivery practices. Today, Agile is being executed in a completely different world — a world filled with disruption, where more organizations are greatly affected by external factors that they can’t control. As we explore in this Executive Update, rethinking Agile transformation starts with building a community that mimics how social systems work. You will need experience (and expertise) with Agile, but you don’t necessarily need a VP of Agile for that. You need to create an army of Agile champions who will spread the change virally.

Business architecture is proving itself to be a critical discipline for bridging the gap between strategy and execution. Whether encouraged by the increasing speed that the discipline is growing globally or their own firsthand experiences with its value, organizations are continuing to invest in establishing internal business architecture practices. However, many do not realize the full potential of what business architecture can achieve for an organization when fully matured. In fact, many do not have a clear vision of what “fully mature” even means. This Executive Update will paint a picture of what a mature business architecture practice looks like, summarize the achieved value as a result, and provide a practical perspective on how to get there.

Introducing Agile causes pain to your organization. This is not because Agile doesn’t work — it works for hundreds of organizations, some of them probably quite similar to yours. This is because Agile shows you the problems and deficiencies in your organization as brutally as the mirror you look into in the morning after a late night out. It is not the mirror that makes you look bad! The short iterations of XP and Scrum and the focus on lead time in Kanban work better the more mature the engineering and management skills in your organization are.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is driving demand for cloud-based platforms designed for building and managing connected solutions and for storing and analyzing the data they generate. This Advisor examines the available products for IoT infrastructure services.

Our friend and colleague Ken Orr passed away on June 14. Ken was a true intellectual. A highly skilled technologist, Ken was a philosopher at heart, who took a genuine interest in everyone he met; he listened closely and was generous with his kind and thoughtful words. We invite you to add your stories and memories in the comments section below.

Our friend and colleague Ken Orr passed away on June 14. Ken was a true intellectual. A highly skilled technologist, Ken was a philosopher at heart, who took a genuine interest in everyone he met; he listened closely and was generous with his kind and thoughtful words. We invite you to add your stories and memories in the comments section below.

It’s time to regain control of your organization’s cloud buying strategy. The coming of age of on-demand cloud computing has led to a surge in the adoption of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) because both the benefits and economics of cloud computing are so compelling. However, the haphazard way we buy cloud resources creates a new issue around trying to manage cost without compromising on newfound business agility.

It’s time to regain control of your organization’s cloud buying strategy. The coming of age of on-demand cloud computing has led to a surge in the adoption of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) because both the benefits and economics of cloud computing are so compelling. However, the haphazard way we buy cloud resources creates a new issue around trying to manage cost without compromising on newfound business agility.

In this on-demand webinar, Cutter Senior Consultant Whynde Kuehn provides a practical approach for establishing a business architecture practice and ensuring that it becomes embedded within the fabric of an organization. Not a member? Contact us to view the webinar.

Let me start by explaining my use of the word “coalition” and set the context for using it with respect to enterprise architecture (EA) and Internet of Things (IoT) alliance or synergy. According to Merriam-Webster, a coalition is “a body formed by the coalescing of originally distinct elements.” While EA and IoT are distinct and unsimilar disciplines, my interest is the inherent synergy between them. In my opinion, this originates from the fact that EA and IoT each supports digital strategies for disruptive business operations.