Enterprise Architecture Management Software

What is Enterprise Architecture Management Software?

Enterprise Architecture Management Software aligns IT infrastructure and business strategy to outline, prepare, and maintain the current and future states of an organization’s systems. Enterprise Architecture Management Software gives users the tools to understand a company’s long-term goals, then support project portfolio management and utilize IT assets appropriately. Enterprise Architecture Management Software creates a point of access for workers and helps to easily incorporate change.

Enterprise Architecture Management Software offers central repositories for data, assets, and other artifacts important to the success of an organization. This allows for a single platform for team members to collaborate, which in turn improves productivity. Enterprise Architecture Management Software also offers modeling solutions to give impressions on future performance, such as anticipated asset retirement or investment outcomes. This grants increased visibility so that enterprise architecture can be dynamically optimized with minimal issues, which is important for imminent mergers or rapid market changes. Thus, Enterprise Architecture Management Software tends to be extremely versatile and is used in a variety of industries.

Enterprise Asset Management Software can be seen as a complement to Enterprise Architecture Management Software. Where architecture solutions address digitized asset management, lifecycle, and planning, Enterprise Asset Management Software manages the physical assets of an enterprise, such as computers and on-site servers. When combined, these two solutions provide wide coverage when blueprinting technical and IT structure.

Enterprise Architecture Management Software Features

Enterprise Architecture Management Software typically includes the following features:

• Customized and templated framework modeling
  
• Enterprise architecture strategy and planning
  
• Information and data architecture
• Application and software architecture
• Solution architecture
• Infrastructure architecture
• Lifecycle modeling
• Project portfolio management
• IT asset management
• Document management
• User access management
• Analysis and decision-making tools
• Risk and benefit assessment
• Visualization tools
• Structure mapping tools
• Audit tracking and traceability tools
• Customizable user interface
• On-premise and cloud-based hosting
• Third party integration
• Agile, waterfall, and hybrid methodology support

Enterprise Architecture Management Software Comparison

When comparing Enterprise Architecture Management Software, these are the most common considerations:

Modeling tools. The modeling tools of Enterprise Architecture Management Software solutions are going to be a primary deciding factor. Easy-to-use modeling features such as drag-and-drop widgets or more complex tools such as metamodeling may be needed depending on your needs. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, for example, offers models to show intricate cascading effects, which are useful for disaster planning. MEGA HOPEX Platform allows technical obsolescence modeling, granting insight into future IT costs and considerations. Finally, Software AG Alfabet Enterprise Architecture Management has support for Internet of Things data modeling.

Number of users. A large user base may need a simple, customizable dashboard so that it is easy for team members of all skill proficiencies to use. However, the number of users may increase the price of software packages, as many vendors tailor pricing to include the number of anticipated users. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect has multiple licensing options to accommodate teams of various sizes.

Integration. An important choice to make is whether you want your software to work with existing workflows, or provide an all-in-one solution. If you want a platform with integrated features so you can reduce third-party reliance, Essential Project EAS offers packages with streamlined business workflow designs. LeanIX Enterprise Architecture Management creates essential information models that can be delivered through Confluence, Jira, and other external software, making it a great option if you’re looking for a complementary product rather than an all-in-one solution.

Stakeholder input. The degree to which external stakeholders need to be involved in architecture management may determine which Enterprise Architecture Management Software has the best tools for you. BIZZDesign HoriZZon offers graph-based, easy-to-use modeling to collect input from stakeholders directly from the platform. ValueBlue Blue Dolphin offers survey tools that can be easily distributed to stakeholders to gather data from them and incorporate findings into future models.

Architect certification. While most Enterprise Architecture Management Software vendors offer end-user training, you may want team members to have external certification. Certification provides team member credentials so they can be efficiently utilized, which will help to ensure consistent performance and reduce errors. While there are several external certification programs, they all have different costs, with AWS CloudFormation’ proprietary exam costing $150 per exam.

Pricing Information

Enterprise Architecture Management Software tends to be offered at the enterprise level, so pricing plans depend largely on the needs of your business and the size of your team, but the lowest pricing options typically range between $100 and $12,500. Vendors typically offer free trials and demos.