Effective management of system capability is crucial for business success and sustenance of competitive advantage. System Architecture needs to maintain a balance across multiple factors, viz. rapidly evolving technology, dynamic business scenarios, and integration with diverse systems, without increasing the cost of software development and the complexity of software systems.
Enterprise System Architecture needs to be expressed effectively for addressing key business concerns such as the following:
- Modernizing the hardware and software environments (reduce the complexity of IT infrastructure)
- Meeting quality attribute goals of applications such as but not limited to availability, scalability, performance, reliability, portability, and maintainability
- Addressing the security challenges associated with the integration of multiple applications, devices, and data sources
The practice of systematic development can provide benefits in terms of quality and cost gains by adherence to architectural guidelines. A key premise of this logic is that important decisions may be made early in system development in a manner similar to the development of civil architecture projects.