Enterprise Architecture: What and Why? Published: December 1,
1998 Enterprise Architecture (EA) has recently become a "hot"
topic. Articles and seminars here and elsewhere have discussed
Enterprise Architecture (EA). Enterprise Architecture (EA) has
recently become a "hot" topic. Articles and seminars here and
elsewhere have discussed Enterprise Architecture (EA). This
paper will define Enterprise Architecture and answer the
questions: What it is? and Why it is useful? In later papers, we
may discuss: What are EA deliverables? What are EA meta data?
How can we organize to develop the Enterprise Architecture, and
how we administer and maintain the EA models? What is Enterprise
Architecture? An enterprise has been defined as a business
association, consisting of a recognized set of interacting
business functions, able to operate as an independent, stand-
alone entity. There are enterprises within enterprises. For
instance, a business unit within the overall corporate entity
may be considered an enterprise as lon