Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF and Well-Architected Frameworks (AWS, Azure and Google)
Introduction
This article aims to explain the differences between TOGAF and the Cloud Architecture Frameworks / Well-Architected Framework (WAF). Are you interested in understanding how these frameworks can be merged? This article provides some insight into these topics without delving too deeply into the specifics of the frameworks themselves.
TOGAF is an Enterprise Architecture framework that is technology agnostic, covering a wide range of areas including on-premise, cloud, applications, business, and technologies.
On the other hand, the Cloud Frameworks focus on providing best practices, guidelines, and tools for designing architecture specifically for the cloud, with a focus on the details of cloud providers.
There are certainly overlaps and intersections between these two frameworks, and we can explore these further in a future article.
Enterprise Architecture
“Enterprise Architecture (EA) framework is the practice of analyzing, designing, planning and implementing solutions to satisfy business strategies.” — OpenGroup
Adopting Enterprise Architecture can help businesses achieve their goals of streamlining processes, aligning business and IT strategies, promoting safety innovation, and staying ahead of the competition.
By prioritizing investments and improving decision-making based on architectural artifacts, organizations can adapt more quickly to market demand and optimize the standardization of their assets.
Enterprise Architecture can also support organizational changes, making it easier to evaluate architecture against long-term goals and providing views of IT architectures to those outside of IT.
One of the most important EA frameworks is TOGAF®.
The TOGAF® Standard is developed and maintained by members of The Open Group, working within the Architecture Forum. The original development of TOGAF Version 1 in 1995 was based on the Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management (TAFIM), developed by the US Department of Defense (DoD). — The Open Group
The TOGAF® framework directly influences all Cloud Providers’ approaches to designing Enterprise Architecture.
A good EA directly influences the business results of all big enterprises. 80% of the Dow Jones Global 50 companies and 60% of the Fortune 500 companies use TOGAF.
It is also essential to explain the differences between business, enterprise, solution, and technical architects.
I found this image on www.leanix.net that explains those differences based on the level of technology or strategy focus:
Cloud Architect Frameworks
Cloud architecture allows businesses to meet both their technical and operational needs by optimizing cost, ensuring reliability and security, and improving performance efficiency.
The frameworks offer guidelines, recommendations, best practices, and tools to help organizations design their IT infrastructure using hyperscalers, depending on the framework they choose.
By following these guidelines, architects can answer the question, “Are you well-architected?” and identify areas for improvement based on the risk level and business impact. Additionally, architects can use vision/lens analysis to assess specific workloads and make revisions accordingly.
The Cloud Architecture Framework references:
TOGAF + Cloud Architecture Frameworks
When it comes to Enterprise Architecture frameworks, TOGAF is a comprehensive framework that is technology agnostic. However, Cloud Architecture Frameworks are not, as they focus on the cloud and provide guidance for their offerings. It’s important to note that Cloud Architecture Frameworks may not be helpful if you have on-premises or Hybrid solutions, and it can also be challenging if you have a multi-cloud environment.
In general, TOGAF recommends central management using a centralized team to manage and govern the entire organization. The Cloud Architecture Frameworks, on the other hand, work oppositely, distributing the decision-making authority as explained on AWS documentation. This can have pros and cons, as a centralized system will provide better governance, but it will bring some bureaucracy.
The Cloud Architecture Frameworks can address this central team’s lack by using Principals, Best Practices, and mechanisms that can validate that the best practices are being followed automatically. They can provide some tools to do it. However, these tools cannot detect some subjective things, such as those related to business goals.
Another critical factor is that the tools used by these Cloud Providers can support enterprise architects to measure what is happening, apply visions/lenses, create traceability and relationships across the enterprise architecture domains, and respond rapidly when architectural risks are identified.
TOGAF provides a comprehensive approach to Enterprise Architecture, covering on-premises, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud, and it also provides guidance on how to structure an enterprise architecture, build teams, build and maintain the repository, implement architecture changes, and communicate effectively.
TOGAF allows for the identification of external frameworks to be added to the ADM process, which is an excellent alternative to use those frameworks and add them to the TOGAF. Using TOGAF with these frameworks can provide Enterprise Architects with an effective way to manage enterprise architecture.
Some tools/solutions Cloud providers can help in conjunction with their frameworks to support TOGAF (WAF are tool agnostic, the following items are not related to WAF itself, but just Cloud vendor solutions) :
To create the organization:
- AWS Organizations
- Azure Management Groups
- Google Resource Manager
To define the team (Roles):
- AWS IAM
- Azure Active Directory
- Google Cloud Identity
To define the Application Portfolio:
- AWS Service Catalog
- Azure Managed Applications
- Google Private Catalog
To define the Architecture Change Management:
- AWS Config
- Azure Application Change Analysis
- Google Cloud Asset Inventory
To define the Audit Process:
- AWS CloudTrail
- Azure Activity Log
- Google Cloud Audit Logs
- AWS CloudWatch
- Azure Application Insights
- Google Cloud Trace
Conclusion
When it comes to Enterprise Architecture, it’s essential to consider different frameworks that can complement each other. Cloud Architecture Frameworks and TOGAF are two frameworks that can work together, especially when the organization has hybrid environments or wants to have centralization.
Both frameworks have their strengths and weaknesses, and it’s crucial to evaluate them to choose the best approach for the organization’s needs. By combining these frameworks, Enterprise Architects can have a comprehensive approach to manage and govern enterprise architecture effectively.
Plus: Conclusion generated by AI based on this article I created:
As I analyze the Enterprise Architecture, I find that incorporating TOGAF and Cloud Architecture Frameworks (such as AWS, Azure, and Google) is critical to achieving a cohesive and efficient system.
These frameworks provide a standardized approach to designing, planning, implementing, and governing enterprise information technology architecture. By leveraging these frameworks, we can ensure that our enterprise architecture is aligned with our business goals, meets our technical requirements, and is scalable, secure, and cost-effective.
Tiago Dias Generoso is a Distinguished IT Architect | Senior SRE | Master Inventor based in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. The above article is personal and does not necessarily represent the employer’s positions, strategies or opinions.
