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Architecture Framework and Strategies
EA enables computer systems, networks, software, and data/information systems that support government functions and services to more effectively and efficiently communicate, interoperate, and share resources. This vision is captured in Statewide Policy P700, Enterprise Architecture. This overarching policy for EA was developed from Arizona's Enterprise Framework and Strategies development document and incorporates strategies; guiding principles; the governance structure, roles, and responsibilities; the renewable EA lifecycle process; implementation strategies; the Arizona EWTA Reference Model; as well as conformance and applicability. Collectively, Arizona’s Enterprise-Wide Technical Architecture (EWTA) provides the strategic technical guidance and definitions to create a comprehensive, interoperable, adaptive IT framework that facilitates and supports the economical and efficient development and implementation of e-government and strategic business solutions that improve government services, eliminate redundancies, and reduce costs. Due to the complexity of information technologies, Arizona's EA encompasses five individual domains to form its EWTA. Statewide policies for each of the five domains provide strategic direction and structure for information technologies. The policies utilize common, secure, industry-wide, open-standards-based technologies and standards, identified by industry standards organizations, and based on documented methodologies, principles, and best practices.
While each domain describes a separate discipline, they all align with the State's strategic goals for IT. They also share and build upon the basic, fundamental principles of secure interoperability, flexibility, adaptability, scalability, and common, secure, industry-wide, open-standards-based technologies. Components of the EWTA are reviewed and refreshed continuously to address major shifts in technology, as well as the emergence and adoption of new technology-related industry standards and applicable economic, governmental, and technical trends. Each EWTA domain has a corresponding Target Architecture Development Document containing the principles, standards, and best practices that build a comprehensive view of the State’s approach to information technology deployment. Domain architecture policies, derived from the domain development document, incorporate the purpose, principles, scope, conformance, and applicability of each EWTA domain. Statewide IT standards, also created from the domain development document, are refined and expanded to define and describe the target technologies that apply to each domain. IT standards evolve as technology and legislative mandates change. The standards are written to allow for evolution and to also accommodate backward compatibility, whenever possible. Target technologies are based on widely-accepted principles and open architectures, supported by open- and/or pervasive-industry standards and best practices. Collectively, the domains characterize a target technology environment for information technology. The target technology table portrays three levels of information technology lifecycle maturity ranging from emerging, to target or strategic, and finally to transitional and obsolete. Arizona’s EWTA is intentionally designed to be as product/vendor agnostic as possible to maximize current investments in technology, provide a workable transition path to targeted technologies, maintain flexibility, enhance interoperability and sharing, and to promote fair competition. |
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