Scott McBride wrote a post announcing the IBM Rational Enterprise Architecture Program a few days ago. This isn't a new program by any means. This program was established before in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University. It does look like the program has been revamped with updated a new structure and approach, updated courseware, materials and participation.
The new participation now includes a newly formed EA Institute called the Enterprise Architecture Institute (iEAi) that looks to of been established and ran primarily by Dr. Scott Bernard.
Some of my initial thoughts are:
Another certification program in the market that is further complicating the EA
Looks to be vendor driven which means there is a strong tie to IBM products, namely Rational (very obvious from the title and called out in the program description)
With the partnership with an external body that may be good but until someone goes through it and evaluates it's tough to tell how unbiased it really is.
I understand that IBM had a very close alignment (all their internal architects used the TOGAF + IBM materials to certify) with the Open Group and TOGAF. Has that relationship been severed? If so, why?
What I do like is they are taking a best of breed approach and not just looking at one EA body.
It's a little too early to tell where this is going or if it will have traction but I am definitely interested in learning more about it.
Here are the details of the program:
The three courses are Basics of Enterprise Architecture, Applied Enterprise Architecture, and Advanced Enterprise Architecture. The courses are designed for those who are, or will be, participating in an enterprise architecture program, or those who have responsibility for the outcomes of an EA program. You will learn how to make a business case for EA, the importance and history of enterprise architecture frameworks, how to identify the capabilities for a future architecture, and how use EA as a means of aligning the organization to articulated business goals with emphasis on IT investments, to name just a few of the topics. Perhaps most is important is how EA integrates with the governance and decision-making processes across the enterprise.
Learn how organizations can become more agile and competitive
Better align strategic goals, business activities, and supporting technologies
Understand how EA provides context for best practices with SOA, ITIL, COBIT,OO, and Cloud Computing
Assess the management of a business and technology portfolio
Better manage at the enterprise and systems levels
Develop a framework for business/technology planning and decision-making
Identify and develop new and enhanced capabilities to gain competitive advantage
Refine the design and implementation of workflow, systems, and infrastructure
Create reusable architectural building blocks that promote business transformation
Attain improved compliance and more predictable project outcomes
Improve the lifecycle of systems development, risk management, and security
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