Enterprise Architecture Generations

This compilation of research, gathered from Forrester Research Inc.’s educational library, will help explain EA generations.

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EA Generations“Like many software

categories, the EA tools market has gone through

an evolution that can be best understood as

generational changes.”

The Evolution From EA Tools To EA Management Suites, Forrester Research, Inc.,

September 1, 2010

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Defining an EA Generation1

EA generations are used by Forrester to specify the different categories of EA Tools that are available on the market.

• Forrester identifi es 3 different generations

• Each generation has been introduced at a specifi c time to support new requirements of users

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New Generations Co-Exist with Older Generations3

There are not “good” and “bad” generations, nor “new” and “old” categories of products.

Each EA generation corresponds with the maturity of organizations in regards to EA.

Depending on your organization’s needs and level of requirements, you should choose an EAMS tool that corresponds best with the capabilities and functionality outlined in one of the three EA generations.

“This new generation of

EA tools, the EA management

suite, is not eliminating the need for earlier

generation tools...”

The Evolution From EA Tools To EA

Management Suites, Forrester Research, Inc.,

September 1, 2010

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1st Generation EA Tools

• “Born” during the 1990s

• Assembled data modeling with a repository that allowed multiple modelers to work together and share outputs

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2nd Generation EA Tools

• “Born” during the 2000s

• Business process analysis added, along with simulation capabilities

• Major focus on project control rather than project portfolio advice

• Focused on metamodel rather than on available functions across the life cycle of EA management

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3rd Generation EA Tools

• “Born” in mid-2000s

• “An integrated set of modules addressing a range of EA functions and objectives” – to offer a “management suite” • IT planning capabilities like road-mapping, planning, and

managing of EA standards• Auditing capabilities for quality, risk or compliance

(embedded in products or offered as individual project)

• EA life cycle management – collecting and updating EA artifacts and continuing through validation, analysis, decision-making, controlling, and adjusting

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“…we must recognize that Enterprise Architecture Management Suites’ (EAMS) IT planning and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) capabilities are becoming an increasingly important piece of the IT management puzzle, particularly considering EAMS’ link to the industrialization of IT along with project portfolio management (PPM) and business service management (BSM) packages.”

The Evolution From EA Tools To EA Management Suites, Forrester Research, Inc., September 1, 2010

Figure 12

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EAMS Key Concepts• 3rd generation, also called Enterprise Architecture

Management Suites, supports a broader set of roles outside the EA group3

• EAMS provide support to numerous IT and business roles, such as CIO, project management offi ce (PMO), heads of development and operations, IT strategists, risk managers and IT procurement, among others4

• EAMS centralize the most-strategic information on IT and the business. EAMS artifacts are expanding from data, process, and organizational models into budgets, strategies, risks, and other information categories5

• The leading vendors defi ning this 3rd generation do not yet address EA’s full scope with their products6

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• Mature EA and IT organizations are the fi rst ones to take advantage of 3rd generation EAMS7

• EA beginners as well as directive and centralized EA organizations will be looking at 2nd generation EA fi rst8

“The risk of disappointment when adopting an EAMS is still relatively high, and adopting a

second-generation EA tool that allows expansion to additional stakeholders – while the tool evolves

– can represent a safer approach for many organizations.”

The Forrester Wave ™ for Enterprise Architecture Management Suites Q2 2011, Forrester Research, Inc., April

15, 2011“

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Download the report

The Forrester Wave ™: Enterprise Architecture Management Suites Q2 2011, Forrester Research, Inc., April 15, 2011

To learn more about EA Generations

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About MEGAMEGA, founded in 1991, is a pioneer in enterprise architecture and business performance solutions.

MEGA is ranked as a leader in various reports, including Forrester Research Inc.’s The Forrester Wave ™: Enterprise Architecture Management Suites Q2 2011, April 15, 2011.

MEGA was named in two recent Gartner, Inc. reports. It was cited in the “Assessment of Enterprise Architecture Tool Capabilities”, published March 31, 2011, and named a leader in the Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Architecture Tools”, October 28, 2010.

“MEGA is the most advanced second-generation EA tool

migrating to EAMS with strong GRC.

MEGA is a long-established player in the EA tools

market, starting from the fi rst generation of EA tools

in the 1990s with data modeling and a repository.”

The Forrester Wave ™ for Enterprise Architecture

Management Suites Q2 2011, Forrester Research, Inc.,

April 15, 2011

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References

This document gathers research from the following Forrester Research, Inc. reports:

• The Forrester Wave ™: Enterprise Architecture Management Suites Q2 2011, Forrester Research, Inc., April 15, 2011

• The Evolution From EA Tools To EA Management Suites, Forrester Research, Inc., September 1, 2010

1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 Source: Forrester Research.Inc. The Evolution from EA Tools to EA Management Suites, September 2010 written by Henry Peyret with Alex Cullen and Mimi An4, 5 Source: Forrester Research’s The Forrester Wave ™ for Enterprise Architecture Management Suites Q2 2011, written by Henry Peyret and Tim DeGennaro

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