A Case Study on the Origin of the IT4IT™ Standard

Like many of technology’s better creations, the IT4IT™ Reference Architecture standard was born out of necessity.

The IT landscape is continually shaped by innovation. Despite that being a cause for celebration for consumers and end-users, the introduction of these new technologies – such as the mainframe, the PC, client servers, the Internet, cloud computing, IoT, etc. – meant that the IT function had, effectively, lost track of what it needed to manage and control.

An open standard architecture-based approach to managing the business of IT was needed. This would have to be a holistic, end-to-end, service-based description of everything the IT function needs, and to be a good steward of all the IT components, solutions, and services within its remit. It was this issue that set in motion the train of events that brought us to where we are today. But there are no grounds for complacency. The work continues.

Even today the complexity and pervasiveness of, and the dependency on, IT systems continues to grow. In many cases, in many organizations today, the management solution is a loose collection of siloed processes. We are still not paying enough attention on how to remain in control. That is why the IT4IT standard is such an important instrument to manage IT, and why we have chosen to document how it came to be.

Reference Architecture for Healthcare – Introduction and Principles

In this article, I’ll share guiding principles for a reference architecture for the Healthcare industry. The main beneficiaries of this reference architecture are patients, health professionals, and Healthcare organizations. Its main users are planners, managers, and Enterprise Architects. A second article will focus on key design ideas for such a reference architecture, followed by a third article to describe its essential capabilities.

Agility within The Open Group

What an exciting event in the city of Denver, Colorado the week of July 22, 2019! If you were at this conference you would probably have noticed the breadth and depth of work happening in The Open Group and, as well, noticed the impact it is having throughout various industries. A lot of really great stuff is going on thanks to those members working on real issues best addressed through collaboration! Kudos to the Members!!

One of the things I heard from some Members, expressed as a “potential” issue, was work being done that might be considered overlapping. Specifically referenced was TOGAF® Architecture Development Method, the Digital Practitioner Body of Knowledge™ (DPBok) Standard, and Snapshot of The Open Group Agile Architecture Framework™ Standard. After giving this some thought I felt compelled to present the optimistic view of this based on my experience with The Open Group over three decades!

An Above-and-Beyond Organization… Behind the Scenes with The Open Group

So you’ve heard of us (who hasn’t?!), and you might even work with us, but do you really knowThe Open Group? We are a compact but passionate team who tirelessly work together and with our Members to achieve our goal of developing technology standards and creating Boundaryless Information Flow™.

So, to go back to basics, who are we and what do we do? Well, in short…

The Open Group Dublin 2019 – Event Highlights

The Open Group hosted its latest event in Croke Park in the vibrant city of Dublin, April 29 – May 2, welcoming attendees that included decision-makers, Enterprise Architects, engineers, technologists and end-users representing many businesses and governments. The theme of this event and a topic which ran through many of the speaker sessions was ‘Digital in Practice’, covering not only the emerging digital technologies but also the standards, architectures and business frameworks that support and enable the transition to, and implementation of, the modern Digital Enterprise.

The Open Group to Hold Upcoming Event in Dublin

The Open Group, the vendor-neutral technology standards consortium, is hosting its upcoming event in Dublin, April 29 – May 2, 2019. The Open Group Dublin 2019 will bring together vendors and end-user organizations to discuss digital in practice and the Digital Enterprise. The event will host attendees from throughout the globe, including decision-makers, Enterprise Architects, engineers, technologists and end-users representing many businesses and governments.

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