Business transformation is a complex process. It involves reshaping an organization’s structure, processes, and culture to adapt to changing market dynamics.

To successfully navigate this transformation, companies need a strong business architecture. This provides a solid foundation for change.

In this article, we will explore the key elements of building a strong business transformation architecture. We will also discuss why it is crucial for the success of any organization in the modern business environment.

What is Business Structure Building?

Building a business structure aims to align information, business, and technology. This helps the organization to be more agile and better able to respond to quick changes. It also assists in managing supply chain disruptions, improving product and service delivery, and tracking data and APIs. This kind of structure also supports redesigns, reorganizations, and IT risk management.

A well-planned and implemented business structure can help any enterprise achieve these goals. To do this effectively, it is recommended to work with an enterprise architect, a business architect, or an IT manager to build and execute the business architecture effectively.

Certifications, like Open CA and AWS Certified Solution Architect, are important for demonstrating skills that are beneficial for structuring organizations in the digital age.

Additionally, the use of enterprise architecture tools and software, such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, is equally important. They help in creating and implementing advanced enterprise architecture strategies for businesses.

Key Goals for Your Business’s Structure

When a business develops its structure, it should focus on:

• Defining clear strategic goals
• Improving operational efficiency
• Enabling agile decision-making

These goals help align the structure with long-term objectives and vision, making sure it supports the strategy and business objectives. Important elements to consider include capabilities, organization, information technology, and value streams. Addressing these elements helps assess transformation capabilities, establish a common language for strategic transformation, and gather transformation process data. Mapping capabilities, defining value streams, and measuring form a magic formula for building a strong business structure that supports strategic goals.

Main Benefits from Structuring Your Business Right

Structuring a business correctly is helpful because it:

• Aligns strategy with execution
• Reduces risk
• Drives improved decision-making
• Extracts cost savings

Effectively deploying business architecture helps bridge the gap between strategy and execution by providing a framework for turning strategic initiatives into actionable projects. The key elements of business architecture include capabilities, organization, information (tech), and value streams.

Business architecture also acts as a bridge between strategy and execution and can help achieve agility, resilience, and adaptability to rapid changes. Additionally, it can align information, business, and technology, and manage supply chain disruptions.

Certification programs and enterprise architecture tools provide support and resources for developing enterprise architecture strategies to enhance a business’s success and growth.

How to Plan Your Business Structure

Methods to Design Your Business Structure

Some methods for designing a business structure that meets the needs of the organization include:

• Assessing transformation capabilities
• Preparing for a transformation
• Establishing a shared language around strategic transformation.

Lack of metrics on transformation can be overcome by implementing the Magic Formula (M+S+M), which helps quantify the impact of strategic initiatives.

Essential tools for building and maintaining an effective business structure include:

• Enterprise architecture methodologies like TOGAF and the Zachman Framework
• Enterprise architecture tools and software such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

Businesses can ensure that their structure aligns with their technological needs by analyzing and aligning business structures and processes, typically reported by the CIO or IT managers.

Additionally, various certifications like Open CA and AWS Certified Solution Architect can demonstrate enterprise architecture skills essential for building and maintaining an effective business structure.

Tools You Need to Build a Business Structure

To create a strong business structure, it’s important to have tools for assessment and improvement. Some necessary tools include enterprise architecture methodologies like TOGAF and the Zachman Framework. These provide specific frameworks for implementing and tracking enterprise architecture. They help analyze and align business structures and processes, typically reporting to the CIO or IT managers.

Enterprise architecture tools and software, such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, as well as third-party tools, can help create advanced enterprise architecture strategies for businesses.

Technology plays a significant role in assessing and improving business structure. It offers support for redesigns, reorganizations, and IT risk management, which are crucial for building a resilient and adaptable business structure. Additionally, technology tools and software can aid in creating business capability maps, value streams, and specific artifacts that bridge the gap between strategy and execution.

Certifications are important when building a business structure as they demonstrate skills and expertise in enterprise architecture. Certifications like Open CA and AWS Certified Solution Architect validate individuals’ knowledge and understanding of enterprise architecture, indicating a strong foundation for building a robust business structure.

Checking If Your Structure Meets Tech Needs

To make sure your business structure fits your tech needs, it’s important to assess your current system thoroughly. This means checking if your structure can handle your tech requirements effectively. One thing to look at is how well your business architecture aligns with your tech needs.

For example, having a business architecture that connects strategy and execution can help turn strategy into action. Also, defining capabilities as the functional abilities of your business is crucial. Reviewing your organization, information , and value streams is also important. These steps help you understand if your current structure meets your business’s tech needs and prepares you for any changes.

Who Helps Build Your Business Structure?

Why Certifications for Structure Building Matter

Certifications for structure building matter in the construction industry. They validate the skills and knowledge of professionals. This ensures they are well-equipped to handle complex design and execution challenges.

These certifications contribute to the quality and safety of structure building projects. They ensure that professionals are well-versed in industry best practices, codes, and standards.

Certified professionals play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of building structures. They implement proven design and construction methods. This ultimately reduces the risk of structural failures.

The lack of shared language around strategic transformation and the absence of metrics on transformation can be addressed by certified professionals. They can provide expertise in interpreting and contextualizing strategy for operational needs.

The magic formula (M+S+M) can then be utilized to assess transformation capabilities. This preparation ultimately drives successful business transformation architecture.

Getting Certified: The Process

To get certified in business structure building, individuals need to undergo training. This training covers topics like Business System Planning (BSP) and Enterprise Architecture (EA). The steps include completing courses or training programs and passing an exam. Certification enhances the process of building a business structure by providing professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills.

How Certifications Strengthen Structure

Certifications for structure building matter. They demonstrate a professional’s capability to analyze, design, and plan enterprise analysis effectively.

They provide employees with the required skills to align information, business, and technology to promote agility and adaptive adoption, helping the organization achieve agility, resilience, and adapt to rapid change.

Certifications like the Open CA and AWS Certified Solution Architect showcase enterprise architecture skills, a key element in bridging the gap between business strategies and execution.

This certification process helps employees understand and contextualize strategies for operational needs. It fosters the development of business capability maps, value streams, and other specific artifacts that contribute to organizational transformation.

This impact further strengthens the organization’s structure. It ensures they have capable individuals who can effectively manage supply chain disruptions, improve product and service delivery, and track data and APIs.

Starting the Transformation: First Steps

How to Begin Changing Your Business

A business should plan their structure to facilitate change and growth by first assessing their current capabilities, identifying gaps, and laying out a clear roadmap that outlines the steps for achieving the desired transformation. This includes assessing both human and technological capabilities and making sure they are aligned with the overall business strategy.

An example could include a thorough review of the organization’s architecture and identifying key areas for improvement to facilitate change and growth.

The key players who can help in building and certifying a business structure for transformation include business strategists and leaders, business architects, portfolio managers, and IT architects. These individuals have the skills and knowledge needed to develop and certify a solid business structure that can support the organization’s transformation goals.

The best time to initiate the process of business structure change and transformation is when the organization is facing a lack of shared language around strategic transformation, meaning that there is a need for a structured approach to translating strategy into actionable initiatives. At this point, it becomes paramount for businesses to start the process of business structure change and transformation, as this is the ideal time to align strategic goals with the organization’s capabilities and streamline the transformation process.

When You Should Start the Transformation

The right time to start transforming a business structure depends on various factors. These factors include market trends, customer needs, and technological advancements.

If a business is struggling to keep up with competitors, experiencing declining performance, or facing difficulty in adapting to new market demands, it may be a clear indicator that a transformation is necessary.

Additionally, an assessment of the business’s transformation capabilities, such as its ability to innovate, change processes, and adopt new technologies, can provide insights into whether the business is ready for a structural transformation.

Furthermore, the lack of a shared language around strategic transformation and the absence of metrics on transformation can also indicate the need for change.

Implementing a proven formula for transformation, involving a mix of strategic planning, stakeholder involvement, and meticulous execution, can help businesses make an informed decision about initiating a transformation in their structure.

History of Business Structure Changes

Old vs. New: How Business Structures Have Evolved

The way businesses are structured has changed over time. In the past, business architecture focused on separate processes and functions. Now, the approach is more streamlined and aligned.

Old business structures used a layered planning methodology from the 1960s. New structures, like Enterprise Architecture under standards like TOGAF, bridge the gap between strategy and execution.

The modern architecture emphasizes the importance of capabilities in understanding a business’s abilities. This provides organizations with more agility, resilience, and adaptability to change.

New business structures also bring benefits like aligning strategy to execution, reducing risk, and improving decision-making. Modern methodologies in enterprise architecture, such as TOGAF and the Zachman Framework, focus on effective implementation and tracking of enterprise analysis to help businesses execute strategies effectively.

Lessons from the Past: Insights for Building Better

The study of business architecture teaches us about the evolution of business structures. For example, the Business System planning methodology by IBM in the 1960s and the codification of Enterprise Architecture into the TOGAF standard in 1995 give us insights into this evolution. Learning from these developments can help organizations build better structures, prepare for transformations, and assess their capabilities.

By understanding historical developments, organizations can also address the lack of shared language around strategic transformations and the challenge of limited metrics on transformation. Historical insights provide a “Magic Formula” (M+S+M) for navigating restructuring processes efficiently, preparing for risk, and extracting cost savings while aligning strategy to execution.

According to Gronstedt and Gronstedt (2022), using business architecture history as a foundation is critical for building better business structures.

Reference:

Gronstedt, A.B., & Gronstedt, E.S. (2022). Business Architecture and Enterprise Design. Wiley Publications.