Inside the Mind of an Enterprise Architect at TCS EAS

We inhabit an era of sweeping technological discoveries. Each day, we push the threshold of our knowledge and innovation a bit further from the yoke of yesterday’s shortcomings and by rule, average enterprises today are opting for a complete rehaul of their operative model with the buzzword “Digital Transformation”. However, without the right strategies and organizational apparatus, such an endeavor can end up in chaos or can be outrun by the next disruption in the marketplace.

In a typical scenario, organizations partner with designated IT service providers for such a leap, but most of these technology partners act as doers and not as strategic or consulting partners. Most thought-leaders today emphasize on the need to innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve.

The TCS EAS leadership, however, took a step further to empower today’s enterprise architects to become tomorrow’s leading game-changers because nothing spells opportunity better than a turbulent industry. This is where the TCS EAS-Enterprise Application Architect comes into picture.

So, what is it? It is a specialized flagship initiative powered by the TCS Enterprise Applications Services, one of the most advanced business units in the organization. The program is borne of TCS’ vast industry knowledge and wide customer base and, hence, provides exposure to various applications or domains with an assignment-based learning strategy and a peek into solving challenging customer problems.

This is different from the traditional, predefined Open Group Architecture Framework by TOGAF or Zachman in a way that it offers a proprietary set of frameworks designed to align with and optimize specific business requirements of different industries and customers that TCS caters to.

What’s in it for a young professional?

• It enables consultants to scale up from their current role to an Enterprise Applications Architect role through a structured approach.

• It provides a first-hand exposure to the business functions of one of the leaders in Enterprise Architecture worldwide

• It helps brush up business consulting skills and enhance soft skills to engage with senior client stakeholders and positively influence customer decision-making

• It improves the ability of the associates to generate proactive opportunities and expand the horizons of possibility for TCS and its customers

When my journey with the program started, I was already working as an Enterprise Architect (EA) for one of TCS’ large accounts in the Communications, Media, and Information Services. Someone asked me why I had decided to join this program when I was already an EA, working for a big client. I responded highlighting on the need to go deeper and gain better insights from TCS’ diverse market presence that could help me add more value to the work I do, constantly learn, and hone my professional acumen. I was one among few associates to be nominated for the program. Even fewer were selected at the interview round; people from several areas of expertise (Oracle, SAP, Salesforce, and other ERPs) came together at a single learning forum.

The days that followed would see a lot of cross-circulation of ideas and experiences.

After being given an overview of different Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and EA processes, we had to design the final presentation on a business case study that was poles apart from anything we were familiar with -- be it our program or account or vertical or industry. This was to become the real test of all my learning so far. It was thrilling to gain a new perception of something so different from my own domain. Collaboration with teams was the catalyst that helped one imbibe and churn all new learnings into fresh ideas.

Today, am proud to be one of the first associates to graduate with an Enterprise Application Architect certificate at TCS. The experience helped me become aware, understand, and collaborate with different technology and industry SMEs. I went into the program eager to chart out the future course of my career; I emerged a stronger individual and a sharper professional. What the journey helped me learn included:

• A broader perspective and a holistic view on Enterprise Functions covering various technology-based solutions for the market

• An overview of the industry and landscape that the organization operates in which is invaluable towards bridging business with IT

• The potential to identify the key predicaments of a customer and define business drivers

• The confidence to put across my point of view on how technology can address business challenges, and which enterprise application products can be harnessed

• A curious blend of business acumen and IT solutions that brings an entire organization together to realize its goals

• A peek into wearing the diverse hats of an evangelist, director, and participant to bring IT application and business teams on the same page across the organization

• An elevation of my professional profile and role progression within TCS

This is an amazing career path for a Technical or Solution Architect to becoming an EA. It holds a three-pronged benefit, where an individual can scale up their career growth at EAS, our customers reap the benefits of a digital era, and TCS as an organization expands its opportunities and demand. Our suite of traditional and advanced EA services provides our customers exactly what they need to succeed.  Be an innovator. Design the future of businesses in the years to come with opportunities at TCS EAS here.