Twenty years after the first publications and books on enterprise architecture, the domain is evolving from a technology-driven towards a more business-driven approach, thus empowering decision makers to adapt and transform an enterprise in order to keep up with changing business needs. At the same time the discipline of enterprise architecting has matured, leading to a better understanding of the profession of an enterprise architect.

With this book, the authors aim to provide an overview of enterprise architecture including the process of creating, applying and maintaining it, thus taking into account the perspectives of CxOs, business managers, enterprise architects, solution architects, designers and engineers. They explore the results that are produced as part of an enterprise architecture, the process by which these are produced, and the role the architect plays in this process. As such, they do not describe a specific method for developing an enterprise (IT) architecture, nor do they define a specific modeling language for enterprise architecture, rather they offer the reader a fundamental way of thinking about enterprise architecture, which will enable him to select and apply the right approach, architecture framework and tools that meet the objective and context of the architecture work at hand. This approach is emphasized by discussion statements at the end of each chapter, sparking thoughts about benefits, shortcomings, and future research directions.

Covering both theoretical foundations and practical use, and written in close collaboration between industry professionals and academic lecturers, Enterprise Architecture thus offers an ideal introduction for students in areas like business information systems or management science, as well as guidance and background for professionals seeking a more thorough understanding of their field of work.

This book is positioned as a rst in a series of books on enterprise architecture needed for a Master of Enterprise Architecture program, and is targeted both at university students and practitioners with a drive to increase their understanding of these elds. As an introductory book, this book aims to explore the concept of enterprise architecture. At rst glance, writing such an introductory book might seem as a straight forward task of setting up a structure and lling in "the blanks. " However, writing this book turned out to be a pleasant journey of discovery. Based on our past experiences, each of us had a clear understanding of enterprise architecture, based on several years of experience and insight in the eld. However, when we started writing this book, and each of us exposed our individual understandings, it became apparent that our understanding of the eld differed in several ways. This prompted several discussions leading to an abundance of new insights. Without exception, thesediscussionstookplaceina pleasantandopenatmosphere,fueledbyourshared driveforunderstandingandincreasedinsight. Wearenowevenmoreconvincedthan before, that the eld enterprise architecture is a true multi-disciplinary profession. In the resulting book, we would like to share our insights, while also hoping to continue our discussions, now also involving you as a reader. We also realise that the journey is still far from complete. While this introductory book provides an overview of the eld of enterprise architecture from the perspective of our insights, many aspects need further re nement.