So, if the EA's job is to ensure alignment of IT with "current and/or future structure and behavior of organization’s processes, information systems, personnel and organizational sub-units, aligned with the organization’s core goals and strategic direction", what's the role of the CIO? In organizations with an EA, is there a CIO at all? If not, to whom does the EA report?
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Definition
Since Open Group does not have a definition, you might have quoted the FEA (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/egov/documents/FEA_CRM_v23_Final_Oct_2007.pdf): "Enterprise Architecture is an established process for describing the current state and defining the target state and transition strategy for an organization’s people, processes, and technology."
No worse than Wikipedia's definition, and certainly more authoritative.
Other credentials and experience
I wonder what other certifications, degree(s) and experience an employed EA, as compared to a paper ED, will need to have? How hard is it to break into the field once you've got the piece of paper?
I think one reason Microsoft has an EA certification is probably because it might take an architect to draw up the plumbing blueprint to utilize their forthcoming services. And with cloud computing and storage, to be fair, in general, the blueprints do become more complicated, whether you are paying Microsoft for SAAS or Amazon or Google.
EA - Strategic Biz-IT Alignment
Another viewpoint to look at EA arena is to understand it as a natural progression from Technical Architecture to Solution Arch and then Enterprise. Its the rising scope of strategic context which differentiate EA from the rest. The deliverables for EA must include business scenarios and solutions should follow general principles based on standards and not on specific set of technologies. In other words EA is about driving all business and associated technology as a set of collective, coherent and interrelated set of activities to generate operational efficiencies and strategic competitiveness.
Enterprise Architect
This position comes directly under the CIO. The CIO is responsible to "ensure alignment of IT with "current and/or future structure and behavior of organization’s processes, information systems, personnel and organizational sub-units, aligned with the organization’s core goals and strategic direction" but it’s the “Architect” who’s responsible to blueprint and develop the vision that mates IT & business into a cohesive, functioning and productive unit, the EA is a living, breathing document that looks out into the future but also takes the present into account, or it should.
AND, there is also the opportunity for Enterprise Security Architects (my next position) who does more or less the same thing with blueprinting security into systems and business processes.
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