Workstream Results
Architectural thinking for everyone
The fact that the second workstream on the topic of accessible enterprise architecture was conducted in 2019, shows just how important accessibility and the lucidity of architecture information is to CBA Lab. A pronounced sensitivity with regard to enterprise architecture and a correspondingly appropriate attitude on the part of the workforce can eliminate non value-generating activities and thus reduce costs.
Professional transfer of machine learning models to the productive phase
"It took me three weeks to develop the machine learning model. Now, a year has passed and it still hasn’t been put to use in production." This complaint by an AI developer describes the dilemma that many companies find themselves in when they conduct ML projects in order to be able to exploit the benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ ML) on a large scale.

New forms of enterprise architecture management
The “Applied Agile EAM” workstream focused on innovation in the field of enterprise architecture management itself. The workstream answered the question as to how an enterprise architecture organization can structure itself and act in a manner that enables it to shape the rapid digital transformation that is under way at virtually all companies.
Disruptive modification of business models
API stands for application programming interface. That might sound very technical, but the impact an API has on a company’s business model is much more disruptive than any changes that might be made to the technical architecture.
Managing blockchain technology with IT
Everyone’s talking about blockchain technology, which has startups and established companies dreaming about making big money and developing new business models or improving existing ones. With this in mind, CBA Lab created the “Blockchain” workstream at the end of 2017.
Simpler and more systematic business-model development
The “Data-Driven Business Models” workstream focused on defining and describing the capabilities a company needs to have in general, and enterprise architecture needs to have in particular, in order to successfully develop and implement data-driven business models (DDBM). Among other things, the workstream produced a guide that will help CBA Lab member companies develop their own data-driven business models and/or enable them to work with other companies, or in other ecosystems, that utilize data-driven business models.
Practical digital twin reference architecture
The Digital Twin workstream gave members of CBA Lab a digital twin reference architecture that can be used in all industrial sectors. The ability to achieve such a multi-sector solution was due to the fact that companies from diverse sectors, such as the automotive, household appliances, and optics industries, participated in the workstream.
"EA campfire": How communities make architects stronger
The term communities these days refers to groups of people who have a common interest. These communities can be very big and diverse (e. g. cooking communities) or very focused – on the procurement of spare parts for certain vintage cars, for example. What’s relatively new here is the fact that these mostly self-organized / loosely organized groups are also able to learn collectively, develop things together, and change views and even attitudes.

An enterprise architecture repository as a basis for cross-silo management systems
Different management systems operating alongside one another make coordinated company-wide architectural work difficult. A more effective exchange of data between previous silo structures also offers advantages for individual business and IT domains, such as security and software asset management organizations, for example. The Cross-Business-Architecture Lab conducted a study to determine where the introduction of a data synchronization system makes the most sense – and how such a system can be implemented across various silos.

The path to big data
Big data and the analysis techniques it is used with have become major buzzwords that have led to an extensive hype surrounding cognitive computing. Cloud providers make big promises which suggest that booking an appropriate cloud service or procuring special database management and analysis systems are all that’s needed to be able to handle big data. The Industrial Analytics workstream came to a different conclusion, however.
Product-neutral reference architecture for IoT
The “IoT Patterns and Architectures” workstream developed a reference architecture (RA) for IoT solutions. Unlike most reference architectures in the commercial IoT environment, the reference architecture created by the CBA Lab members who participated in the workstream was designed from the beginning to be product-neutral, and its individual elements were designed to be reusable.
Low-Code has high potential
The low-code trend harbors great potential, but relevant open questions and risks nevertheless remain. Low-code involves application development on the basis of "prefabricated" components that require little or no hard coding.

Big benefits for digitalization projects.
The architecture style known as microservices is entering the mainstream. Many companies have now realized that microservices are particularly useful for the development of services relating to various aspects of digitalization, the creation of services for end customers, and the establishment of new functions at the periphery of traditional monolithic applications. To date, no other style of architecture has been able to meet the requirements of DevOps delivery models and cloud applications as well as microservices do.
Multi-cloud as viewed from a strategic perspective
The right cloud service for every use scenario, no vendor lock-ins, a high degree of reliably at the best possible level of performance – companies undergoing the digital transformation are increasingly recognizing the benefits of heterogeneous cloud environments. A white paper produced by the Cross-Business-Architecture Lab explains how EAM can help with the effective planning and management of such environments.
Dynamic tool for the companies of the future
Enterprise architecture is now playing a much more important role in supporting innovation at digitalized companies by providing valuable input and advice. At the same time, new instruments are needed in order to ensure the continued effectiveness of enterprise architecture approaches. The Next-Level Enterprise Architecture Plan presented here represents such a dynamic and collaborative instrument that can be used by both business stakeholders and enterprise IT departments.
Rapidly acquiring and using knowledge – in a Sprint Workstream
Sometimes things need to move very fast – for example when a new task has to be performed that requires the acquisition of additional knowledge, but the normal workload doesn’t allow the time needed for this. Sometimes circumstances can also change suddenly and staff need to introduce new software that the company has no experience with, and therefore little information about.

Product IT and its implications for
companies, IT, and enterprise architecture
Product IT can be tricky. Several important questions need to be answered here, such as: How should product IT be defined? Which capabilities are needed? What are the interrelationships between product IT and commercial IT? How is the "new kid on the block" to be integrated into the company as a whole, and what do stakeholders need to pay attention to here?

EAM dialog in new roles
“The purpose of the Next-Level Enterprise Architecture Plan is to offer all relevant stakeholders – for example the CIO, CEO, and the portfolio manager – a common knowledge and information platform that reflects their respective points of view and can be clearly understood by everyone” – this is the stated mission of the “Next-Level Enterprise Architecture Plan” workstream. In this Vision Story, the workstream team shows how collaboration here might work in practice.
"Enterprise Architecture" simply explained
Dr. Karsten Schweichhart explains "Enterprise Architecture" with the help of moving boxes.
