Case Study: Deutsche Bank Turns To Business Architecture To Transform Business-IT Alignment

Enterprise architecture (EA) programs are becoming more business focused, helping IT deliver greater value to the business. Business-focused EA teams are developing the "next practices" for interacting with the business, collecting and analyzing data, synthesizing across domains, and communicating the resulting architecture. In this case study, Deutsche Bank needed to transform IT-business alignment to make the most of its shift to service orientation. It started by building out a business architecture function and followed by launching a pilot that resolved some thorny tactical business problems. The result? Deutsche Bank's business domain architects are in such demand that they have to prioritize their involvement: "There's only so much you can do with 30 architects," their head of EA told us. EA teams should look for similar opportunities for positive near-term impact to show value but be careful to shift to more strategic goals once they gain momentum.