New Global Study Reveals Enterprise Architecture critical foundation for Digital Transformation

Global survey from LeanIX on Enterprise Architecture reveals the discipline’s role in managing IT complexity and fulfilling digital transformation goals

BONN, GERMANY/BOSTON, MA – October 22, 2019 - LeanIX, the leading global provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions in Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM), today announced findings from a new study of IT leaders that uncovers EA’s crucial role in tackling IT complexity and accelerating digital transformation.

The EA Insights Report 2019 includes responses from nearly 1,900 IT leaders across the United States, Europe, and APAC. The report explores current progress on the path to digital transformation and the role of Enterprise Architecture in overcoming barriers, reducing risk factors, and creating strategic opportunities. Among the findings, the study revealed that while 79% of enterprises agree that digital transformation is a priority focus and a large investment area in their organization, and 82% said that digital transformation has increased IT complexity. 

Legacy IT Impedes Digital Transformation 

IT organizations have long-battled complexity related to aging infrastructures, legacy applications, and siloed lines of business. And now, the very strategy that was meant to speed them up, is doing the opposite. In fact, one in four that cite increased IT complexity within their organization admit they are behind on digital transformation plans. The data shows that legacy IT is also to blame, with 36% seeing it is a major roadblock for digital transformation. Other major impediments to digital transformation include legacy applications (39%), IT security concerns (34%), and application integration challenges (28%).

The Cost of Unmanaged IT Complexity 

Respondents overwhelmingly agree that cost, risk, and innovation are significantly impacted by IT complexity. 74% of IT leaders say increased complexity has unnecessarily increased the costs of IT, and 59% agreed it has increased wasted spend. 76% agree that IT complexity increases compliance challenges and exposes the business to risk as IT teams are unable to effectively track, audit, and clear assets without an organized inventory of entities. 58% of respondents believe that complexity slows the speed of innovation by delaying the IT analysis, planning, and execution work critical to cycling efficient project pipelines. 

Accelerating Digital Transformation with Enterprise Architecture 

There’s no denying the power of digitalization. It can change a business trajectory, helping centuries-old companies chart a course to innovation and keep their younger counterparts competitive. Organizations are investing heavily in IT to support business processes and quality of product, and the LeanIX survey revealed that EA programs are proving to be a high-value investment area. 74% of respondents agreed that EA has provided tangible advancements towards digital transformation goals. Furthermore, 87% reported that investments in EA have helped reduce IT costs, with an average 4.6% savings attributed to EA. 

The LeanIX data highlights critical hurdles along the path to IT modernization while sharing practical insights from respondents like the following on how to manage scaling IT infrastructures:

1. Improve visibility of IT landscapes: Lack of visibility breeds complexity. 81% of respondents agreed improved visibility is needed to combat IT complexity and prevent application errors and system downtime. 
2. Better tools to manage Enterprise Architecture: Enterprises need intelligent, cross-organizational tools to automate record-keeping and generate actionable insights. For survey respondents, the answer is in better EA tooling, with 81% of respondents agreeing that dedicated EA tools that leverage real-time data to provide instant insights can deliver this efficiency. 
3. Extending Enterprise Architecture programs: EA is a longstanding discipline that has evolved to match and evaluate IT assets according to associated business value. 78% of respondents believe that EA programs hold the power to managing IT complexity. This is largely due to its ability to visualize entire landscapes across various dimensions, spot irrelevant IT assets, and expedite projects. 

“Gone are the days when technology was for cost-cutting and consolidation—today’s digital leaders rely on technology to build agile, customer-centric operations,” said André Christ, CEO and co-founder of LeanIX. “We recognized early on the need for a pragmatic and collaborative approach to Enterprise Architecture Management to meet the needs of the evolving digital business. Our latest study confirms our early predictions. Among business leaders, there is growing recognition of EA’s crucial role in tackling IT complexity and accelerating digital transformation efforts.”

The Way Forward: Collaborative Enterprise Architecture 

While CIOs acknowledge the value of EA, with 9 out of 10 agreeing that Enterprise Architecture Management is critical for digital transformation success, the LeanIX data nonetheless shows that lack of awareness of EA (33%), lack of support from top leadership (28%), and lack of collaboration (36%) are major hurdles for successful EA programs. Without awareness and support, IT cannot expect to see investment in the right tools. And, without the right tools, critical elements of digitalization can not be deployed or monitored. In this way, it is no surprise that respondents cited data quality and integrity (20%) and the inability to effectively automate processes (16%) as additional hurdles to effective EA management. 

Added Christ: “EA’s true value is realized when key stakeholders, including strategists and executors, work closely together on a shared platform through real-time inputs and feedback to extend the value of one another’s efforts. This approach also fosters faster communication between stakeholders and lowers the chance of errors.”  

Digital transformation plans ultimately show no signs of slowing, and as evidenced in the report, EA can pave the way for IT if given the right support and strategy. Of note, through improved alignment between business and IT, more strategic roles for EAs, and the right tools and technology, organizations can rid themselves of IT complexity and finally gain the necessary visibility into their entire IT landscape, unlocking the power of digital transformation and future-proofing their business strategy in the process. 

For more information and to download the full report, please visit: https://www.leanix.net/en/download/enterprise-architecture-insights-report-2019?hs_preview=vMVfaVXY-18290674266.  

About LeanIX

LeanIX offers a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application for Enterprise Architecture (EA), which enables organizations to make faster, data-driven decisions. More than 250 global brands including Volkswagen, Adidas, DHL, Merck, Vodafone, and Zalando rely on LeanIX to improve transparency, visibility, and drive real-time efficiencies. LeanIX addresses IT’s critical need to ensure high-quality, real-time data is accessible to stakeholders whenever needed. Use cases include Application Portfolio Management, Technology Risk Management, and Integration Architecture. LeanIX was founded in 2012 by Jörg Beyer and André Christ. The company is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, with U.S. headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. 

To learn more about LeanIX, visit www.leanix.net or @leanix_net on Twitter.