IT Architecture and Planning

There is an old saying "fail to plan, plan to fail", and this has never been more true than in IT Architecture. Understanding the requirements, knowing the options, evaluating the tradeoffs and assessing the costs are essential for a successful project. The first step is to develop a solid IT architecture and plan.

To be successful the architecture and planning process must:

• Be a collaborative effort with all the key resources involved

• Identify and prioritize requirements, and be an ongoing process to capture changes as they occur
• Incorporate both the organization's current and future operational, support and technical environments
• Select technologies based on the requirements and design, not based solely on what the technical pundits deem to be "best of breed" or "industry leaders"
• Produce a focused architecture and design document that captures the requirements, tradeoffs and decisions made, expected usage, as well detailed technical information for subsequent engineering/build/implementation activities

The Warning Signs

Unfortunately it is not uncommon for IT projects to go off track, resulting in systems that do not meet business needs, are overly complex, are expensive to maintain or have poor reliability. Many times the cause is a flawed architecture. Watch for the warning signs...

• Few architecture updates, infrequent review sessions
• Generic evaluations that do not directly address requirements
• Not enough detail to understand the solution and design rationale
• Lack of cohesion; an architecture that reads like a "cut-and-paste" of information from different sources

The Bittacle Difference

At Bittacle we've developed IT architectures and designs for a wide variety of projects. We know the questions to ask, and understand the importance of not only involving the organization's resources but also of keeping them involved. Our knowledge of a wide range of technologies and products allows us to objectively evaluate them against the architecture needs.

 

The architectures and designs we develop are based on actual, proven experience, not information that was "Googled up" or "voted the best" by industry pundits. Contact us today and lets talk about how Bittacle can help put the architecture and plan in place for your project to ensure success.