#eavoices

Architecting the shadows

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In enterprise-architecture, we’ve long known about the importance of shadow-IT – the place where much of business IT-innovation comes from, yet also presents organisational risks if not managed appropriately. Yet whilst talking with Pierre [I never did catch his surname –…

Enterprise Architecture and Wardley Maps

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I had an interesting conversation recently about the use of Wardley maps as part of an Enterprise Architecture and Digital Transformation programme recently. I had looked at using Wardley maps some time ago but now I think it is a good time to incorporate their use into normal Enterprise Architecture/ Business Architecture work. They are […]

Enterprise Architecture and Digital Strategy

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Digital strategy is not simply about marketing. It is about a better engagement with potential and existing customers. It is about the perception of the brand created with customers though close interaction via social media and close communication leading to a value proposition that can better serve their actual and future needs. As with any […]

Boughing to the Inevitable

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What is the best time to plant a tree?

A popular answer to this question is that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, and the second-best time is now.

This is often claimed to be an ancient Chinese proverb. Or an African proverb. It is unlikely to be either of these.

And obviously we are not supposed to take this proverb literally. Because if the best time was twenty years ago, the second-best time would be nineteen years ago.

But instead of interpreting this logically, we are presumably supposed to interpret it as a motivational statement. Don’t waste time regretting that you didn’t plant a tree twenty years ago, act now to make sure you don’t have similar regrets in twenty years’ time. (Do real Chinese proverbs do motivational statements? I suspect not.)

In his new book, The Inevitable, Kevin Kelly talks about the opportunities for internet entrepreneurs thirty years ago. “Can you imagine how awesome it would have been to be an ambitious entrepreneur back in 1985 at the dawn of the internet?”

He then looks forward to the middle of the century. “If we could climb into a time machine, journey 30 years into the future, and from that vantage look back to today, we’d realize that most of the greatest products running the lives of citizens in 2050 were not invented until after 2016.”

In other words, for an internet start-up the second-best time is now.

By the way, I’m not the first person to use the pun about ‘boughing’ to the inevitable. For example, @rcolvile used it in the context of ash dieback. “Half the trees in the country were going to be torn down. He’d already had to veto a particularly insensitive press release describing him as ‘ashen-faced’ about the situation, but ‘boughing to the inevitable’. Meanwhile, Google is asking me if I meant ‘coughing to the inevitable’. Thanks Google, it’s always useful to spot something you haven’t yet mastered.

KK.org, The Inevitable
Kevin Kelly, The Internet Is Still at the Beginning of Its Beginning (Huffington Post, 6 June 2016)

On The Best Time to Plant a Tree (Reddit)

Robert Colvile, Friends: The One with the Guy in a Yellow Tie (Telegraph, 3 November 2012)

When Will We Learn?

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We’ve all heard the sayings about history repeating. Did we pay attention? Did we actually hear what was said, or were we just in the room when it was mentioned? Did we learn anything? Greger Wikstrand and I have been trading posts on innovation for more than seven months. His last post, “Black hat innovation”, […]

ArchiMate® 3.0 – Internet of Things

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In a previous blog on the ‘Digital Customer Intimacy’ strategy of our example insurance company ArchiSurance, we outlined that they intend to use more detailed customer data to improve customer interaction and satisfaction, and to determine customized insurance premiums. To this end, they want to use the Internet of Things, acquiring data from smart, connected devices such as personal fitness trackers, black boxes in vehicles, home automation gateways, fleet management systems, in-store RFID devices, or smart building sensors.

The Open Group Austin Event to Take Place July 18-21, 2016

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The Open Group, the vendor-neutral IT consortium, is hosting its latest event in Austin, TX, USA July 18—21, 2016. The event, taking place at Austin’s Four Seasons Hotel, will focus on open standards, open source and how to enable Boundaryless … Continue reading →