Enterprise architecture (EA) will continue its journey up the value chain in 2009, but there's no doubt that the road will be bumpy at best. Helping their organizations deal with economic conditions will consume some EA teams, and most will have to narrow their scope. But before 2008, some EA groups had already begun the evolution toward more directly helping business leaders make business decisions, and they will find that this increased business visibility translates to perceived value and an accompanying increase in EA's opportunity to marry business strategy to technology strategy.