What is IT architecture?
IT architecture is an organised set of decisions regarding policies and principles, services, general solutions, standards and guidelines, as well as specific products used by IT providers both inside and outside the IT industry.
One of the most important activities associated with producing an IT architecture is the process through which decisions are agreed upon. It is generally understood that reaching consensus can narrow down purchase and design options, hopefully in the interest of improving interoperability. It is a given that the greater the consensus reached, the better the benefits to the organisation will be.
What are the goals of IT architecture?
IT architecture is guided by the following goals, which help in making decisions regarding the establishment of individual standards:
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Architecture decisions should serve the mission of the department.
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Architecture should serve diverse environments.
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The greater the consensus around individual architecture decisions, the greater the benefits.
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Architecture should identify areas of stability without preventing significant innovation.
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Architectural decisions should describe tangible results of following or not following the architecture.
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Architectural decisions should provide sufficient evidence so that one would be able to assess the degree to which any given specific implementation is in line with it.
What is the purpose of IT architecture?
The purpose of IT architecture is to guide the process of planning, obtaining, building, modifying, connecting and implementing IT resources across the department.
As such, IT architecture should provide the necessary means to achieve stable development by identifying technologies that together satisfy the needs of the department.
How do you put together the right IT architecture and what can it contain?
A comprehensive IT architecture specifies 1) policies, 2) principles that indicate direction, 3) services and common solutions, 4) standards and guidelines, and 5) products that precisely describe how it should be implemented.
Each of these aspects is organised from most general to most specific. However, there are numerous examples of interplay between the different layers. For example, many if not all of the services institutions provide are guided by the man-made policies of the institutions in which the services are provided. Your department would have documented a number of these policies along with their information technology implications. Those policies are best implemented by following some very basic IT principles. One of the best ways to ensure that they are followed is to reach consensus on a set of standards and guidelines so that the products purchased or built are consistent with the overall architecture.
