AI and, most recently, generative AI (genAI) have uncovered the true power of automating tasks that previously were tedious to complete or difficult to improve the efficiency of the work within a singular domain of the business. But much more importantly, genAI has also started to drive new levels of business value as it cuts across different domains of business operations. In fact, genAI by design is a silo breaker!
But how will AI and genAI disrupt the enterprise architecture discipline? What are the potential benefits and challenges for that discipline, and should enterprise architecture leaders be concerned about their role? Let’s take a closer look at these questions.
Understanding How AI And GenAI Will Impact The Enterprise Architecture Discipline
As an enterprise architecture leader using genAI, you want the technology to provide relevant information and answers that bring real value to your request, not just some kind of worthless hallucinations or coherent nonsense. Enterprise architecture management suites (EAMSes) have started to overcome this problem with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology, implying that research and analysis stays and remains inside the enterprise in a fully protected format, with knowledgeable data. And while enterprise architects may dream of the future, they must never be subject to hallucinations for their forecasts.
During the research for my upcoming Forrester Wave™ evaluation on EAMSes (to be published later this year), I had the opportunity to interview many EA tool vendors and ask them how they have incorporated AI. I would like to thank ABACUS, Adaptive, Ardoq, Bizzdesign, Capsifi, Essential Cloud, SAP LeanIX, MEGA International, North Highland, SAMU, and Sparx Systems for letting me know how AI and genAI are getting more and more embedded in their EAMSes.
Here is the good news: AI and genAI are not going to replace enterprise architects! On the contrary, these technologies will augment them. The ultimate goal for enterprise architects using EAMSes will be the design of digital twins of their various business operations, which in turn will allow them to create various “what if” scenarios for their transformation options. This will empower enterprise architecture leaders to decide on the best possible transformation roadmaps.
My new report, Disrupt Your Enterprise Architecture Practices With AI And GenAI, describes how this game-changer phenomenon will make enterprise architecture not just more efficient but will also enable enterprise architecture leaders to act as trusted advisors to their CEOs going forward.
If you’re a Forrester client and you’re interested in working on the value proposition for your architecture group, please request a guidance session or inquiry with me to discuss in detail.
