How can other industries and regions inspire your business architecture practice?

1 Cross-industry learning

One of the benefits of business architecture is that it is not tied to a specific industry or sector. It can be applied to any type of organization that has a purpose, a value proposition, and a target market. Therefore, you can learn from how other industries approach their business architecture, and adapt their ideas and methods to your own situation. For example, you can study how the healthcare industry uses business architecture to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and comply with regulations. You can also learn from how the entertainment industry uses business architecture to create engaging and immersive experiences, leverage digital platforms, and foster creativity and collaboration. By cross-industry learning, you can discover new ways of thinking, solving problems, and creating value.

2 Regional diversity

Another source of inspiration for your business architecture practice is the diversity of regions and cultures around the world. Different regions may have different economic, social, environmental, and political factors that influence their business architecture. For example, you can learn from how the Nordic countries use business architecture to support their innovation ecosystems, social welfare systems, and sustainability goals. You can also learn from how the Asian countries use business architecture to enable their rapid growth, digital transformation, and customer-centricity. By regional diversity, you can appreciate the variety and complexity of business architecture, and how it can be adapted to different contexts and needs.

3 Benchmarking and collaboration

A third way to inspire your business architecture practice is to benchmark and collaborate with other organizations that have similar or complementary business architecture goals and challenges. Benchmarking is the process of comparing your performance, processes, and practices with those of other organizations, and identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. Collaboration is the process of working together with other organizations, and sharing knowledge, resources, and expertise to achieve common or mutual objectives. For example, you can benchmark and collaborate with other organizations in your industry, in your value chain, or in your network to learn from their successes and failures, and to leverage their strengths and capabilities.

4 Continuous improvement

A fourth way to inspire your business architecture practice is to adopt a mindset of continuous improvement. Continuous improvement is the practice of constantly evaluating and enhancing your business architecture, and making incremental or radical changes to improve its effectiveness, efficiency, and agility. Continuous improvement requires you to be curious, open-minded, and willing to experiment and learn from feedback. For example, you can use various tools and techniques, such as surveys, audits, metrics, simulations, and prototypes, to measure and improve your business architecture. You can also use various frameworks and methodologies, such as agile, lean, and design thinking, to guide and support your business architecture improvement process.

5 Future trends

A fifth way to inspire your business architecture practice is to anticipate and respond to future trends that may affect your business architecture. Future trends are the emerging or potential changes in the external environment, such as technology, society, economy, and regulation, that may create new opportunities, threats, or expectations for your business architecture. Future trends require you to be proactive, visionary, and adaptable, and to align your business architecture with your strategic foresight and scenario planning. For example, you can use various sources and methods, such as research, analysis, forecasting, and workshops, to identify and evaluate future trends. You can also use various strategies and tactics, such as innovation, diversification, and transformation, to adapt and evolve your business architecture to future trends.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?