Enterprise Architecture Strategic Planning
Effective
utilization of technology to achieve business functions and services, increasing
citizen access to those services, sharing information, and resources at all
levels of government, and maximizing IT resources investment were major
motivating factors for developing and implementing Enterprise Architecture
(EA).
EA facilitates the
application of information technology to business initiatives and objectives
and subsequent change in an orderly, efficient manner by describing a direction
for current and future activities, supported by underlying principles,
standards, and best practices. EA effectively supports and enhances the
business of State government; improves the ability to deliver responsive,
cost-effective government functions and services; and aligns with the State’s strategic goals.
The implementation
of EA presents opportunities for State agencies to interoperate together to
deliver a higher level of courteous, efficient, responsive, and cost-effective
service to the citizen owners and employees of State government. Individually,
each State agency can independently implement EA components that are
interoperable, however, e-government initiatives, economies of scale,
consolidation, and cross-agency savings may best be realized not just through
interoperability, but also by working together in partnership and sharing.
Aligning EA with
the Governor’s Strategic Plan, which incorporated the business goals of state
government, and the current State IT Plan, elevated the EA development beyond a
pure technical level and provided a “check and balance” system between IT and
the business of state government. This approach has resulted in EA becoming a
strategic initiative in subsequent State IT Plans and prominently interwoven
with the Governor’s Strategic Plan. Supporting
rationale for the five EA domains (network, security, platform,
software, and data/information) has been summarily
presented below against the goals of the FY2002-03 State IT Plan.
A. Increase the
use of e-government solutions.
Rationale:
Ø
EA facilitates the acquisition,
development, implementation, and support of e-government business solutions
that provide consistent delivery of services to external business partners and
the public through the Internet, through common,
proven, industry-wide technologies that focus on interoperability, sharing of
information, scalability, portability, and Internet/Intranet and
Extranet technologies.
Ø
Network Architecture provides the
mechanism for a consistent method of organizing and categorizing State
information, which results in consistent methods of presenting information to
external business partners and the public through the Internet.
Ø
Security Architecture provides the
secure framework to be able to conduct e-government business processes that
provide access to information and resources, while maintaining
compliance with the legal requirements established by existing Federal and State
statutes pertaining to confidentiality, accessibility, availability, and
integrity. Security Architecture and effective
privacy protections are essential elements of all information systems.
Ø
Platform Architecture provides the
devices for common, open, citizen access interfaces, and interoperable
processing capability for implementing e-government solutions and improving
access to State resources and information.
Ø
Software Architecture provides the
software implementation of e-government solutions facilitating common, open,
citizen access interfaces and improving access to State resources and
information.
Ø
Data/Information Architecture correlates disparate agency business functions,
modeling the desired outcomes into potential e-government solutions facilitating common, open, citizen access
interfaces and improving access to State resources and information.
B. Effectively
share common IT resources to enable State agencies to better serve the people of
Rationale:
Ø
EA provides a foundation that allows
agencies to select, develop, and implement secure network infrastructure,
platforms, and software applications that complement the State’s data/information
architecture and assure business continuity and integration with other
agencies. EA provides a common framework for sharing of domain implementation
strategies and a common basis for standard technology documentation
Ø
Network Architecture provides agencies
with guidance to seamlessly deploy common applications, information, and
resources in a secure, network infrastructure environment.
Ø
Security Architecture provides guidance
for agencies to securely deploy common applications that allow for appropriate
levels of protection for any sharing of information and resources.
Ø
Platform Architecture provides agencies
with guidance for selecting and deploying common, interoperable devices that
economically and effectively support agency business applications.
Ø
Software Architecture provides agencies
with guidance for selecting and developing software applications, programming,
database, and productivity software that support the
sharing and exchange of information with other governmental entities and the private
sector, while economically and effectively supporting agency operations.
Ø
Data/Information Architecture
provides communities of interest and individual agencies with guidance for
designing and implementing e-government solutions and services that support the
sharing and exchange of information with other governmental entities and the
private sector, while economically and effectively supporting agency
operations. Data/Information Architecture
provides data modeling outcomes that allow communities of interest and
individual agencies to design and implement interoperable e-government
solutions and services that expand business continuity and integration
opportunities with other agencies.
C. Improve access
to broadband infrastructure statewide.
Rationale:
Ø EA, in conjunction with broadband availability and access and
implementation of secure, network infrastructure, provides for a common,
consistent, open, interoperable array of platform devices for enhanced citizen
and State employee execution of business software applications and access to
e-government solutions, services, and information in an Internet/Intranet and
Extranet environment, regardless of location.
Ø Security
Architecture implementation protects individual agency, and statewide access,
to information and resources, while
maintaining compliance with the legal requirements established by
existing Federal and State statutes pertaining to confidentiality,
accessibility, availability, and integrity.
D. Improve the
quality, efficiency, and usefulness of cross-agency applications integration
and data sharing.
Rationale:
Ø
EA promotes consistent, common, proven,
open-standards-based methodologies for securely implementing agency and potential
cross-agency business-specific software applications and associated
data/information to allow agencies to improve interoperability and integration,
and consequently, opportunities for sharing data.
Ø
EA enables interoperability at multiple levels statewide
as well as improved capabilities for sharing documents, graphics, and reports.
Ø
Implementation of EA improves cross-functionality
and interoperability of agency information systems and development
methodologies.
Ø
Data/Information Architecture facilitates a
community of interest approach to e-government solutions, which support
interoperability and the sharing of information across the State enterprise.
E. Improve the
capability of IT functions in order to deliver quality products and services.
Rationale:
Ø
Network Architecture maximizes the
ability to leverage existing assets by capitalizing on existing infrastructure
to accelerate agency acceptance and minimize the difficulties of migration and
integration. The architecture provides a recommended framework for legacy
migration and integration.
Ø
Implementation of the Security
Architecture ensures that responses to changing business needs maintain compliance with the legal requirements established by existing
Federal and State statutes pertaining to confidentiality, accessibility,
availability, and integrity.
Ø
Platform Architecture maximizes the
ability to leverage existing assets by capitalizing on open, interoperable
infrastructure to accelerate agency acceptance of the domain and minimize the difficulties
of migration and integration.
Ø An
understanding of current business processes and their environment in
conjunction with the implementation of Software and Data/Information
Architecture provides
the technical guidance and tools necessary for IT functions to collaborate with
the respective, responsible business unit and communities of interest to
effectively deploy and deliver interoperable, integrated e-government solutions
to provide a faster response to changing business needs. It also allows decision-making
to progress more rapidly and advances an environment that enhances citizen
access to information and services.