Supporting the CIO – Changes, Challenges and the role of Business Architecture

Many C-Level executives are now facing a situation where the ‘traditional’ aspects of their role are being reshaped, or in some cases undergoing wholesale changes. From a CIO perspective, one of the fundamental challenges being faced is that the business is going direct to vendors to procure technology solutions for their business. A Logicalis survey reported recently that 31% of CIOs were bypassed on numerous occasions in technology purchases and over 90% were bypassed at least some of the time(1).

So how can a CIO maintain their influence in today’s businesses?

In a room full of competent business professionals, what makes you stand out?

Have you ever invested the time to work out what it is about yourself that got you to where you are today? Or taken it a step further and more importantly worked out what it is about yourself that will get you to where you want to be in the future? In a room full of competent business professionals, what makes you stand out? What is your point of difference? What is your Unique Selling Proposition?

At first, identifying your Unique Selling Proposition may seem relatively simple. You’re most likely well educated, have a desire to want more and have a grand ability to solve problems. But so does the person sitting next to you, and the person sitting next to them… so what is it that really makes you unique when it comes to the business world?

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training”

While individuals may have different innate talents, the world’s most successful people have always been those who continually enhance their skills and develop instincts through countless hours of training.

Think about it this way, you’re not going to be able to run a marathon on sheer optimism alone — you’re going to have to make sacrifices, invest in new tools and seek out proper guidance and training to ensure you’ll make it to the finish line. The same goes for professional development.

How are you expecting to secure that promotion, ace that big project or become a respected thought leader in your field if you’re not constantly pushing the boundaries and making a proactive effort to widen your knowledge base?

Announcement: EA brings Design Principal into the fold

Jason Davey joins EA’s international consulting practice, FromHereOn*

EA is excited to announce that Jason Davey will be joining the team to lead our Design Practice in Australia and internationally. Jason was formerly CX Program Lead at Westpac Group, Design Mentor at Telstra and Head of Digital at Bupa. Having spent 18 years creating and applying design tools and method for business aligned customer and employee experiences, Jason brings a unique mix of experience, thought leadership and creative mindset to business strategy.

Based in the Sydney office, Jason will lead the evolution of design methods for improving digital experiences and optimising customer journeys. His focus will be to further complement our proven architecture methods with techniques that enable executives to tackle complex business problems and guide strategy.

When asked about his new role Jason commented “In a recent podcast from UX Matters, Jeff Gothelf (author of Lean UX) stated ‘there is still a very strong perception at the executive layer that design makes things look good. Even organisations that invest heavily in them still rarely see design as a strategic partner.’ I’m excited at the opportunity to help organisations achieve an understanding of ‘true customer value’ for their business. Connecting the dots between design and delivery, with customer needs as the driver for transformational & organisational change, is what FromHereOn will be famous for.”

Kristian Hanlon, Client Services Delivery Director said “Jason joining FromHereOn is a real coup. Jason is one of the few senior design thinkers who understands the importance of grounding good design in architecture and integrating human and social centred design as part of the continuous evolution of business and service delivery. Focusing on the alignment between customer, employee and brand experience and leveraging his deep industry and domain expertise, Jason will help FromHereOn’s clients realise what’s possible.”

Jason has worked in Finance, IT, Automotive, Healthcare, Digital Marketing, Infrastructure, Advertising and Legal & Compliance industries. Jason also preaches what he practices on various generalassemb.ly courses.

You can find out more about Jason here or contact him at our Sydney office on (02) 8222 6500.

  • *In 2017, Enterprise Architects (professional services division) will adopt the brand of our international consulting practice FromHereOn. FromHereOn has been Enterprise Architects European brand for many years and reflects the incorporation of a more design-led, humanistic approach to strategy development and implementation aligned to our clients’ broadening requirements.


Data Analytics: The fine line between success and failure in the Data-driven Economy

Trying to understand how you can integrate a data-driven vision into your strategic agenda? Or perhaps you understand the need for a data-driven vision but need some tools to successfully implement it in your organisation. In this article, I will closely examine 5 core factors for an organisation’s success or failure in the data-driven economy, some of which you may find surprising.

[GUEST BLOG] Design Thinking & Knowledge Management

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a “Design in Business” course run by Enterprise Architects , co-created with DesignChain and facilitated by the inimitable Helen Palmer.

I had previously undertaken some reading in Design Thinking and started a MOOC on the subject which I didn’t complete, so I wasn’t going in completely blind but I wanted to see how this (concept, framework, method) would assist in my role as a knowledge manager. I think I came out with so much more…

ANNOUNCEMENT: Enterprise Architects Poised For Rapid Growth In Queensland

Enterprise Architects (EA) is proud to announce that Neil McCaffrey has joined the firm’s Brisbane office. Neil has worked with KPMG and A.T. Kearney, before heading the IT Strategy and EA practices at Gartner Consulting. Coming to EA from four years at QSuper he brings that perfect mix of management consulting experience and strategy and architecture leadership from inside a major corporate.

My 5 Key Takeaways From The Design In Business Course

In October 2016 we held our first ‘Design in Business’ course in Melbourne in partnership with DesignChain. The course, authored by Craig Martin and Helen Palmer, looks to take Design Thinking and apply it in a business context, both in terms of solving real-world business problems but also in a way that can be integrated within mainstream disciplines such as Business Planning, Architecture and Analysis.

The Role of Data and Analytics In The US Election

As the dust settles on one of the most opinion-dividing and controversial election results in history many people were left wondering what the consequences will be with Donald Trump taking over from Barack Obama in the New Year. Social media sites were awash with people adding their two cents on the results and what it means not only for the USA, but also for the rest of the world.

[ANNOUNCEMENT] EA Learning Launches New Cloud And Big Data Courses

EA Learning is delighted to announce the launch of two new certification courses from the Arcitura™ Education curriculum. The Arcitura Education business has a proven track record in delivering high-quality and respected certification programs. They have certified IT professionals in over 60 countries, across various industries and role types. From February 2017, EA Learning will be running the certification courses in partnership with Silver Platypus, the Certified Training Partner of Arcitura™ Education in Australia, for both Cloud and Big Data disciplines.