Enterprise architecture in Swiss SMEs

In today’s fast-evolving business environment, mid-sized firms are facing constant pressure to align their IT infrastructure and strategy with their business goals. Enterprise architecture (EA) frameworks like The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) offer structured methodologies to help guide this alignment. While these EA frameworks are typically associated with large corporations, mid-sized firms can also harness their benefits.

This article explores how Swiss SMEs can harness the power of EA through a pragmatic approach. We’ll highlight key considerations, evaluate the pros and cons, and provide actionable steps to make EA work for your business needs.

Rejhan Fazlic

Partner and Technology Strategy & Transformation Leader, PwC Switzerland

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Markus Hegi

Senior Manager, Advisory, PwC Switzerland

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Larissa Kruesi

Manager Technology & Data, PwC Switzerland

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What is enterprise architecture?

Enterprise architecture frameworks provide a structured approach for organisations to align business processes with technology, ensuring that IT systems are designed in ways that support your company’s goals. EA frameworks allow a structured and transparent approach for optimising costs, identifying and managing risks, improving agility and enhancing collaboration.

TOGAF, one of the most popular EA frameworks, offers a comprehensive methodology for designing, planning and governing enterprise IT. For mid-sized firms, implementing an EA framework can seem like a daunting task due to resource constraints, but with a pragmatic approach, the benefits outweigh the challenges.

Enterprise architecture for Swiss SMEs: tailor TOGAF to your needs

EA frameworks like TOGAF might seem overwhelming, but Swiss SMEs don’t need to tackle it all at once. Think modular – like building a house, you focus on the essential rooms first and then add extras as needed.

Instead of adopting every TOGAF element in its entirety in each phase, focus on the topics that directly align with your company’s priorities. Additionally, starting with TOGAF doesn’t necessarily require a fully-fledged EA tool suite. In fact, a low-tech approach using templates in Excel and Word can be a suitable starting point until you become familiar with the framework. As you gain more experience, you can then choose the EA tool that best suits your specific needs.

Following a pragmatic approach, for example, a Swiss manufacturing SME might begin with:

Capability mapping: define the core competencies and how they generate value.
Business processes: define the core processes for these capabilities, like order fulfilment or product development, and document the core business requirements.
Applications: map the applications to the core business processes and identify potential gaps.
IT infrastructure: document the technology that supports these applications and evaluate how ‘fit for purpose’ they are.

One challenge for mid-sized firms is the cost and resources burden that comes with EA framework implementation. However, Swiss firms can manage costs by taking a phased approach, using existing in-house resources where possible and outsourcing specific tasks when necessary.

Following a pragmatic approach, for example, SMEs can focus on:

Embracing open source: Use free, open-source tools for EA documentation and analysis in the initial stages. There are many resources available, such as ArchiMate (standardised modelling language that enables your organisation to describe and analyse your organisation’s architecture) and EA Navigator, which can provide a foundation while minimising up-front investments.
Making use of existing resources: Focus on the knowledge of your in-house expertise and train your IT experts in specific TOGAF areas. This not only saves costs but also fosters a culture of internal ownership and expertise.
Strategic outsourcing: For specialised tasks, such as architecture reviews or system integration, consider outsourcing to consultants with proven experience in TOGAF. This ensures you get the right expertise without building a large, dedicated internal team.

EA frameworks are powerful tools for aligning technology and business, but in mid-sized firms there often isn’t a dedicated team to manage this alignment. Therefore, it’s crucial to create a lean architecture practice that focuses on immediate business priorities, such as increasing operational efficiency, improving customer service and reducing costs.

A pragmatic approach in the dynamic Swiss business environment, aligning IT with business goals, for example, considers the following.

Cross-functional teams: Establish a cross-functional team that includes business and IT leaders who meet regularly to make sure that IT initiatives align with business objectives.
Visual communication: Use visual tools, such as process flow diagrams, roadmaps and dashboards, to communicate the alignment between IT and business goals to your stakeholders. This promotes a shared understanding of the strategic direction.

Swiss SMEs often operate in fast-paced industries where adaptability is crucial. Traditional EA governance models can feel like a bureaucratic hurdle, slowing down decision-making and hindering innovation.

A pragmatic approach instead allows you to respond quickly to changing market conditions. A Swiss mid-sized manufacturer might implement an agile governance model to quickly approve new software for production optimisation in response to a competitor’s innovation.

Implement lightweight governance: Don’t create a complex, multi-layered governance structure. Instead, opt for smaller, agile teams with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This empowers teams to make decisions quickly while ensuring alignment with your overall strategy.
Keep decision-making simple: Establish clear but flexible criteria for IT investments, such as alignment with business goals or return on investment (ROI).

Mid-sized firms often lack the IT talent and resources that larger firms have, which can make adopting an EA framework a challenge. By focusing on core areas and avoiding unnecessary complexity, firms can make meaningful progress without overstretching their resources.

Build up your EA capabilities gradually. Start with a small, cross-functional team and develop skills by assigning part-time roles in EA to existing employees who are already involved in strategic IT decisions. Focus on training staff incrementally through workshops, mentoring and certification programmes like TOGAF Foundation.

Mid-sized firms must remain flexible to accommodate future growth and changing market conditions. EA frameworks can seem rigid, but by using a phased, iterative approach, firms can make sure their architecture grows and evolves in line with business needs.

Adopt a pragmatic ‘just enough architecture’ approach. This means only defining architecture components that are necessary for immediate projects or business needs, but leaving room to scale or evolve as the business grows. Design processes that allow for frequent reassessment and adjustment of the architecture to ensure it can pivot as business conditions change.

Example A pragmatic approach to each TOGAF phase

By adopting a pragmatic approach, mid-sized firms can harness the power of TOGAF without being overwhelmed, ensuring architecture initiatives deliver business value.

Imagine a Swiss mid-sized manufacturer that built its reputation on reliable on-premise systems. However, the rise of (ERP) cloud solutions and its adoption by competitors is putting pressure on the firm’s ability to meet growing client demands for innovation and real-time analytics. To remain competitive, mid-sized firms can look pragmatically at the TOGAF framework to align their target IT infrastructure and strategy with business goals in a structured way.

Here’s what a pragmatic approach to each TOGAF phase (A to E) could look like:

TOGAF phase	Pragmatic focus	Example – ERP assessment
Preliminary	Describe the objective of the initiative and which elements it covers regarding TOGAF.	Document Level 1 processes affected, business objects, applications, IT systems and interfaces. Document key stakeholders and their roles.
A Architecture vision	Define a short vision statement outlining the desired future state and which business goal(s) it supports.	Objective 1: define the priorities of the business (e.g. flexibility, costs). Objective 2: evaluate the best IT architecture to support those priorities. Objective 3: document all information in a repository (TOGAF standard).
B Business architecture	Instead of mapping every process (variants), prioritise critical business processes that are feeling the strain of legacy systems, such as order fulfilment, inventory management and production planning.	Initial data can be gathered in a simple Excel sheet documenting core processes, key stakeholders and business objects. This data can in parallel be transformed into a TOGAF-aligned EA repository.
C Information systems architecture	Identify all involved applications and IT systems and focus on interfaces and potential ‘shadow IT’ that is involved in supporting the business processes.	Initial data can be gathered in a similar Excel sheet. When documenting relationships (e.g. of interfaces), use of an EA tool is recommended.
D Technology architecture	Evaluate the as-is architecture to market options (e.g. on-premise versus cloud).	Document the functional and non-functional business requirements and evaluate how each architecture option scores against them.
E Opportunities and solutions	Document the pros and cons (SWOT) for each option and conduct a high-level effort vs benefit assessment.	SWOT, effort and benefit per option. Recommendation.

Advantages

EA frameworks offer scalable solutions that grow with the business, making them ideal for firms that anticipate expansion but want to ensure a smooth transition as the company grow.

By focusing on key elements of an EA framework, mid-sized firms can ensure that their IT initiatives are closely aligned with strategic business goals, driving efficiency and value from IT investments.

With a structured approach, firms can make more informed decisions regarding technology investments, business process improvements and risk management, helping to avoid wasted resources.

EA frameworks can provide a structured approach to managing risk and ensuring regulatory compliance, which is particularly important for mid-sized firms working in regulated industries.

Challenges

EA frameworks offer scalable solutions that grow with the business, making them ideal for firms that anticipate expansion but want to ensure a smooth transition as the company grow.

Setting up an EA framework can take time and requires ongoing commitment. For firms with limited IT staff, this can create bottlenecks in both business and IT operations.

EA frameworks, especially TOGAF, can introduce complexity and overhead that might overwhelm firms with limited resources. It’s important to balance the benefits of a structured approach with the need for agility.

If the framework isn’t properly adapted, there’s a risk that it might be too rigid or complex for the firm’s actual needs, leading to potential misalignment between IT and business objectives.

Conclusion A pragmatic path forward: unlocking the power of enterprise architecture

The rise of cloud services and ready-made AI tools are constantly reshaping the IT landscape of SMEs. In this dynamic environment, adopting a pragmatic approach to enterprise architecture frameworks like TOGAF provides powerful tools for mid-sized firms to align and realign their IT with business goals, manage risk and support growth. By adopting these frameworks through a pragmatic approach, organisations can avoid overwhelming complexity, excessive costs and rigidity.

By taking a phased, flexible and resource-conscious approach, mid-sized firms can harness the benefits of EA frameworks without being burdened by their challenges.

“Start small, focus on immediate business needs and make sure that architecture practices remain adaptable and scalable for future growth. By doing so, mid-sized firms can unlock the full potential of enterprise architecture frameworks, turning IT into a true driver of business success.”

Rejhan FazlicPartner and Technology Strategy & Transformation Leader, PwC Switzerland