Open Source Solutions For EA Tool Needs Are Progressing

With more than half of enterprise architecture (EA) programs not using commercial EA-specific tools, there is definitely room for alternatives such as open source options. During the past two years, Forrester has seen increasing interest in open source software (OSS) EA tools — and particularly two OSS tool projects: iteraplan and Essential. Despite their infancy, these tools are rapidly maturing, driven by their sponsor companies acting as a development arm and, in Essential's case, a new open community process. In the future, these open source EA tools will benefit from standards maturation such as BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) and TOGAF as well as from university programs teaching EA practices using these tools. EA teams should consider these tool sources not just for license cost savings but also for additional benefits such as metamodel transparency, openness, ability to start small, and the recognition they'll receive by participating in a growing community.