Technology Strategy Patterns: Architecture as Strategy

by Eben Hewitt

Any business aims to do one or many of these things: Grow shareholder value Grow earnings per share Increase revenue Manage costs Diversify or create new revenue streams Cross-sell more products Increase market share Increase share of wallet Increase yield Improve customer retention Reduce product error/defect rates Improve safety Improve time to market/speed of operations Grow through acquisition Of course, there are different emphases at different times. To achieve these aims, broadly speaking, the strategist asks these questions: Are resources devoted to the right areas, to the most important customers? Are we creating products and services that can thrive in a market in different time horizons? Where should we spend money? Where should we cut costs? Where do skills need to be added or strengthened? Where can productivity be improved? What culture, attitude, and skills are required?