For years, many enterprise architecture (EA) teams operated in isolation, building elaborate frameworks that few understood and even fewer used. Then something shifted: Architects started solving actual business problems instead of perfecting abstract models. Our research captures this turnaround. In 2023, only 35% of digital and IT professionals said architects add value; by 2025, that figure jumped to 47%. More telling: Agreement that architecture is essential climbed from 67% to 77%.

Architects earned this credibility by connecting their work to the outcomes that executives care about.

What Changed

Three forces pushed architects out of their comfort zone:

  • Digital transformation failures accumulated fast. Companies watched duplicated systems multiply, standards conflict, and technical debt spiral. The cost of building without architectural discipline became too obvious to ignore.
  • AI and emerging tech raised the stakes further. Organizations discovered that they couldn’t experiment at scale without clear guardrails and deliberate design. Speed requires structure, and structure requires architects who understand both technology and business intent.
  • Architects started speaking the language of executives. Instead of talking about reference models and taxonomy, they focused on measurable results: faster time to market, lower risk, and reduced complexity costs. Outcome-driven practices — connecting architectural work directly to business performance rather than technical perfection — became the discipline’s North Star.

The Market Caught On

Architect roles are now mainstream: Sixty-eight percent of tech organizations now employ architects, up from 60% in 2023. Among large enterprises — those with over 20,000 employees — the figure hits 88%. This isn’t surprising; the bigger and more complex the operation, the more it needs architectural thinking to hold things together.

What CIOs Should Do

EA has shifted from a nice-to-have function to strategic necessity. CIOs need architects embedded in strategy, transformation, and product development — with real authority to shape decisions, set standards, and govern investments. That means getting serious about the discipline by hiring experienced architects, building capable teams, and funding the work properly. Skipping this step shows up fast in the numbers: Transformation stalls, costs balloon, and risk multiplies. When speed and adaptability separate winners from losers, architectural drag kills momentum.

Where This Goes

EA has evolved from an isolated advisory function into a strategic capability. Organizations that build strong EA practices will move faster and smarter than those still treating it as bureaucratic overhead. Architects earned their credibility by delivering value — now, they need the mandate and resources to scale that impact.

👉 Read the full report for deeper analysis and benchmarks: Enterprise Architecture Trends, 2025