IT3200 Scott Morrissette December 11, 2010

Enterprise Architecture Proposal Project: Revision Plans

Every company has a set of capabilities that can be digitized to ensure reliability, high quality, low cost, and timeliness (A-G Magazine, 2008). Money Making Finance has long endured their IT department as the bottleneck rather than an asset. The company has done well over the years without integration; however, as the company continues to grow exponentially, all branches and departments require the need for integration. A coordination model calls for high levels of integration but little standardization of processes (Robertson, Ross, & Weill, 2006). Implementing a coordination model will allow the financial advisors at each branch the power to negotiate and customize their experiences with customers. The focal point of the EA implementation will be the integration of shared data and services by all branches and departments across the world. By focusing IT investments on enabling the integration and standardization required of the company’s operating model, a company prepares itself for future strategic initiatives, without knowing what those initiatives might be (Robertson, Ross, & Weill, 2006) The operating model that has been set forth for Money Making Finance is no doubtable an excellent decision. Other financial and insurance companies have benefited immensely operating their EAs as coordination models to include MetLife and TD BankNorth. Coordination allows companies to integrate untold numbers or processes without forcing standardization (Robertson, Ross, & Weill, 2006). As a financial company, it is essential for Money Making Finance to avoid standardization in order to meet the demands of customers as previously mentioned. Changes to previous assignments include the maturity stage that Money Making Finance is currently operating at. After looking over the stages of maturity once again, the company seems to have characteristics of both stages; however, the company has not fully matured into stage 2. Once each branch’s IT platforms are standardized and integrated amongst the other branches, the company will be in the Standardized Technology stage. This IT platform implementation will require the IT department to establish Active Directory and create Organizational Units (OUs) for each branch. Once this step has been completed, the IT department will need to ensure each department and employee possesses the proper permission to folders and documents in order for the data to be shared throughout all branches securely. Money Making Finance will be another step closer to reaching the Optimized Core stage once the IT platforms have become standardized and data is integrated. The management practice changes that will be implemented will be sufficient for the company until it reaches the later stages of maturity. The only other drastic change that may need to be revised is the outsourcing of several departments to include human resources and payroll. These two departments are essential to the company; however, outsourcing these two departments early may lead to disaster as the company is still in the building process of their enterprise architecture foundation. The outsourcing of payroll and human resources may be more appropriate once Money Making Finance has reached the Optimized Core stages. Once in the Optimized Core stages, the company will want professional services to ensure these departments operate more efficiently while reducing costs. The establishment of a medical insurance department will be the focal point for Money Making Finance to continue their success and dominate their respective markets. Although, this implementation may seem drastic to some, the medical insurance industry will be a high-demand market for all consumers in the United States for years to come. The company can gain great financial gains establishing their hold on the market. This strategy of growth can also take advantage of existing distribution channels to reach the marketplace, thereby reducing the cost of distribution for new products, and providing additional “up selling” opportunities to existing customers (Elshaug). The revisions that have been established will not hinder progress with the EA implementation for Money Making Finance. Removing some of the outsourcing aspects to the implementation will reduce the risk of the project failing. The company will be solely focused on the success of the implementation one project at a time rather than tackle several projects at a time. I felt that too many changes can hinder the processes; therefore, outsourcing will be implemented once the company has matured further. The employees will need to see the vision of the senior management in order for this project to become a success and removing further distractions will allow for this to become a success. The standardization of IT platforms will be the stepping stone if integrating and securing data across all branches. Implementing an Active Directory and shared data through portals and middleware will allow the shareholder to achieve the goals that they had set forth of this project.

References

A-G Magazine. (2008, August 25). Top 10 Leadership Principles for Enterprise Architecture. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from Architecture & Governance Magazine Website: http://www.architectureandgovernance.com/content/top-10-leadership-principles-enterprise-architecture
Elshaug, S. (n.d.). Strategic Growth Through the Right Operating Model. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from Insightful Solutions, Inc. Web Site: http://insightfulsolutionsinc.com/Articles/Strategic_Growth_Through_the_Right_Operating_Model.htm
Robertson, D., Ross, J., & Weill, P. (2006). Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.