Since 2010, Forrester has sponsored its International EA Awards, which implies that is the fifteenth annual event! This award gives the chance to showcase actual excellence in enterprise structure, distinguish your organization’s thought management, and provides again to the broader structure occupation. Forrester has once more partnered with The Open Group, which is contributing each publicity and judges. Final yr, US Financial institution (Americas), Schneider Electrical (EMEA), and Union Financial institution of the Phillippines (APAC) received. This yr, will or not it’s you?
EA award submissions are in full swing, and also you’ve obtained lower than a month to go if you’re in North America. As you wrap up your submissions, please take into account the next:
What Makes A Profitable Submission
Each Forrester knowledge and shopper inquiries counsel that EA is making a comeback. Between 2022 and 2023 the variety of enterprises within the US reporting they’d an structure group rose by 20% (sure, two years doesn’t a development make, and I’m wanting ahead to this yr’s knowledge).
But behind that quantity are many shopper tales indicating a deep concern that EA can now not afford to be seen as an “ivory tower” exercise. Forrester strongly promotes the concept that all structure should ship enterprise outcomes, by way of lowering threat and price, and/or bettering buyer expertise and income and mission outcomes. For instance, lowering the assault floor reduces cyber threat, and requires governance of expertise acquisitions – which generally falls to EA. Bettering vendor leverage via lowering the product footprint, bettering buyer expertise via establishing grasp knowledge, serving as a trusted advisor on transformational initiatives – all are methods we hear EA teams including worth.
Inform A Compelling EA Story
It’s not sufficient to say “As an EA group, we advise on transformational initiatives.” Which? GenAI? Cloud transformation? Main ERP uplift? What have been the enterprise goals, how measured, and have been they achieved? Did you scale back portfolio sprawl by X%? The appliance packet comprises these “good” and “unhealthy” examples:
Unhealthy | Good |
Our EA staff is a vital enabler of synergistic efficiencies. Good structure allows good value effectivity whereas lowering threat and supporting quick Agile supply. Our EAs are collaborative and modern, and handle nicely via affect. Our EA program is a strategic accomplice to supply groups. | EA led an initiative to scale back the appliance portfolio from 1200 to 800 purposes, and the supporting vendor expertise portfolio from 600 to 400 software program merchandise. This had a direct impression on our staffing effectivity; we have been capable of reallocate 40 engineers from legacy applied sciences to supporting new ones. The CTO publicly acknowledged our efforts on the final firm assembly. |
How We Choose
Final yr, every submission was judged by 4 judges rotated from a bigger pool. This yr is more likely to be the identical. The questions replicate Forrester’s outcome-driven structure mannequin:
So, anticipate questions in your priorities, capabilities, and the way structure influences supply in the direction of true enterprise outcomes. This yr, we even have two particular awards classes: genAI and IT4IT structure (see the packet for particulars).
Judges search for particular and ideally quantified actions and outcomes. Platitudes and generalities rating low.
If You Win
When you win, we request that you just be keen to work with us to write down up a related case research out of your submission if you happen to win or place. You’ll have last approval over this case research. Please don’t apply for the award until key elements of your achievements will be shared with the world.
How To Take part
You’ll find extra details about the award classes, plus detailed submission packages and directions, on the web sites for our three Expertise & Innovation Summits under. Please select the suitable hyperlink to your area:
North America
EMEA
APAC
Submissions shut on Might 20, 2024, for North America; June 20, 2024, for EMEA; and July 9, 2024, for APAC. Be part of us in celebrating the achievements of these on the forefront of technological innovation and enterprise transformation. Nominate your high-performance IT group as we speak!