*The Rise of Architecture*
/By Daniel Gingras
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*December 16, 2005: Understanding the underpinnings of your
infrastructure, it's architecture, is the first step in getting the most
from IT, writes CIO Update columnist Dan Gingras of Tatum Partners.*
The world of ancient Rome has been all the rage lately, with specials on
the History Channel, HBO, The Discovery Channel and other media almost
nightly.
We marvel at the unbelievable sophistication and beauty of buildings,
civil infrastructure and military technology created more than 2000
years ago. There was a precision in the architecture and the technology
of the Romans unrivaled for almost 1500 years after their demise.
The key to their success was the birth of a new science: architecture.
And the lessons learned more than 2000 years ago are just beginning to
find their way into the world of IT.
Many modern companies today are faced with chaotic systems, cobbled
together over many years, and often times the result of mergers and
acquisitions where it was simpler to just continue using the old systems
than to change them.
....
Groundbreaking work at Carnegie Melon University in the field of
information architecture and ways to measure the sophistication of both
architecture and development--the capability maturity model--has
significantly reduced the overall cost of IT development, operations and
maintenance.
cont'd....
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