Off to New Orleans this week to speak at the Enterprise Architecture Conference. Here is the description of my keynote: "Enterprise Architecture is morphing into some new and exciting directions. With the advent of new concepts such as Web 2.0 and SOA, we have new opportunities to modernize our enterprise, and better align IT with business. However, there is much to be learned, and some of the existing approache Off to New Orleans this week to speak at the Enterprise Architecture Conference. Here is the description of my keynote: “Enterprise Architecture is morphing into some new and exciting directions. With the advent of new concepts such as Web 2.0 and SOA, we have new opportunities to modernize our enterprise, and better align IT with business. However, there is much to be learned, and some of the existing approaches will have to change. So, how do you go about it? In this presentation I’ll take you through the softer concepts of preparing for this shift, including: Having a better understanding of your own IT needs, understanding the real value beyond the SOA hype, understanding what changes need to take place, and planning for those changes including altering the skill sets, and the technology employed. Moreover, I’ll provided you with a step-by-step proven approach for aligning your organization and enterprise architecture, with both the emerging needs of the business and embracing best-of-breed emerging technology and concepts. ” So, what’s changing? In a world, everything. Truth-be-told many enterprise architectures out there are not pretty things, and as we become more aware of the inefficiencies of IT, there is more pressure on IT, as well as the enterprise architects, to become more agile in light of changing business requirements. Moreover, the layers upon layers of technology that have accumulated over the years need attention as well. Thus, things are indeed changing. While SOA seems to be the battle cry for many in the enterprise today seeking change, in many cases the fundamental changes that are required are much more about the culture and the people, and less about the technology and the latest-greatest approach. In other words, we have to become savvier about what we do, and not what we buy. There is a huge difference. It will be interesting to see my impressions from this conference. My sense is that guys like me, yelling about things such as process improvement, architecture normalization, and SOA, are getting more air time these days. That means that the message is at least getting out to those that should hear it. I’ll blog from the EAC conference this week, so stay tuned. Â Â Software Development