Successful organizations have acknowledged and capitalized on the role of information technology (IT) as an enabler for enterprise-wide transformation. Transformation requires a vision, a framework, a blueprint to guide the integration of business planning, business operations, automation and technology infrastructure. This is the role of the Enterprise Architecture (EA).

EA is the master plan that describes the current and future state of organization from a business as well as from a technology perspective and the role of technology to bridge this gap. Z & A’s EA blueprint provides a common shared vision for the business stakeholders and the IT professionals and greatly increases their ability to make informed decisions about the implications of current IT investments on future business.

The scope of the EA engagement will dictate delivery of one or more of the following services:

• Strategy.
• Application Portfolio Roadmap.

Strategy

Today people can access, create, analyze and exchange information in ways that until recently were not possible.
At Z &A, we tend to align your IT strategy with your business strategy. Loyalty to a particular technology or vendor may make it difficult to adapt to a better way of doing things, , but Z & A offers vendor –I independent, technology neutral Strategy Services. We can help in the development or revision of your plan to prioritize needs, allocate resources and develop or expand services.

A Strategy engagement begins with our team of experts gaining an understanding of the client's business – and IT strategic planning processes followed by a review of the technical infrastructure. This equates to grasping the business drivers and implications of technology change like business goals, timeframes, current problems, future direction and compliance with government regulations.

Application Portfolio Roadmap

Constant demands for new and improved applications must be evaluated and prioritized with ongoing projects and the availability of resources. To help manage this process, Z & A offers its Application Portfolio Roadmap Service, also referred to as Project Portfolio Management or PPM.

Z & A’s Application Portfolio objective is to align projects, funds and IT resources with organizational priorities. The process helps you maintain control of your IT projects and deliver meaningful value to the organization. Portfolio Management begins with Z & A specialists gathering a detailed inventory of all the projects in your organization. Z & A then organizes your projects into a single portfolio documenting the status, objectives, costs, schedules, resources and risks for each project.

Z & A’s approach allows you to manage your IT assets as a financial portfolio by having riskier strategic investments mixed with more tactical investments. A regular review of your portfolio will help immeasurably in reallocating resources to produce the optimal ROI.

Z & A also provides a roadmap which is based on the business processes, data and application models. Business drivers are linked to essential technology changes and the impact of those changes on the system is highlighted. Overall, the roadmap provides detailed insight and recommendations by comparing the current status of the Application Portfolio to where it needs to be.