Andre de la Harpe

The Relationship between Service Oriented Architecture and Enterprise Architecture

The adoption of Enterprise Architecture (EA) concepts within organizations is causing an interest in the methodologies and supporting technologies available. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) supports EA in many facets. However, there is much dissolution with regard to the relationship between EA and SOA within organizations. There are also potential problems that may arise if this relationship between SOA and EA is not agreed to at the outset of implementing an EA. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the growing role and importance of understanding the relationship between SOA and EA, and in doing so to demystify some of the expectations of the role that SOA plays in EA.

Making sense of the IT/IS industry to enable better business enablement and competitiveness: A case-study of the Western Cape in South Africa

Generally in South Africa the commentary about our competitiveness in the retail, financial services, banking and other industries reveals that we are not growing our businesses into the African continent as fast as other countries despite our presence and cultural proximity on the continent. In an attempt to yield an explanation this research explores the IT/IS industry structure in SA looking at both suppliers of services and consumers of IT/IS services along the vectors of productivity, value proposition, design of value proposition and strategic positioning. An IT/IS focus is chosen because this is the main way of enabling business competitiveness in the age were in. 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with Executives leading businesses which provide IT/IS solutions. Through an abductive process a systemic view of these issues is presented and explained in phenomenal terms using Roger Martins ideas around the design of business because of the resonance between the findings here and his ideas on “design thinking”.

Adoption of New Technological Innovation by SMMEs in South Africa - Information Accessibility a Key to Successful Technology Uptake

This paper investigates the impact of information accessibility on SMMEs in South Africa in the process of evaluation and adoption of new technology for the business. Information provides SMMEs to have an informed foundation on which to base their decisions on the new technology. The lack of information is perilous to the management of SMMEs, because it limits the ability to adopt, and the affinity to make an informed decision and choice of a new technology. The paper uncovers challenges of information accessibility by SMMEs and their understanding of its impact on adoption. A multiple case study strategy is used, with a multiple methods approach within the qualitative study. Findings from the online survey were analysed in a descriptive manner in line with a qualitative approach. Focus is on data relating to information accessibility forming part of the initial online pilot study leading on to the qualitative interview section. The number of survey respondents was limited to 22 SMMEs and does not support generalization beyond its immediate environment. Thus results from the pilot online survey were applied to give direction to the interviews to obtain deeper and richer context from 15 SMMEs selected. Findings revealed that SMMEs lack knowledge of some factors affecting technology adoption and the roles these factors play in the business and adoption process. There is an acknowledgement that SMMEs lack access to information to identify the functions and features of a new technology with potential before making a decision based on relevant facts and knowledge.

Organisational Theory: Did IT Outgrow Management Theory? A Case Study of the African Oil and Gas Industry

IT leadership is blamed for being rigid and unable to service the evolving needs of their organisations. Theory guides management what technical skills the IT department requires. However it does not mention what people skills are required. Many management theories have been developed during the last century. The implementation of an effective and efficient IT department remains problematic for business and IT management as traditional management theory does not necessarily support the implementation of IT within organisations in the African Oil and Gas industry. This paper explores the disconnect between traditional management theory and the way that IT implementation work within the African Oil and Gas industry. The research seeks to understand how and why people react in a specific way and how they manage the complex environment they function in. A mixed-model research design was used to add depth and detail to the research findings. Data were collected sequentially through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Senior representatives (47) of the IT population in the African Oil and Gas industry were selected using the cluster sampling technique. Convenience sampling was used to test the results from the targeted population against a group of CIOs and IT executives (31) at the CIO Africa Summit held in June 2014.. The results show that traditional management theory has become insufficient to deal with the fast changing and complex environment of the Oil and gas industry. C-level executives and CIOs agree that IT professionals need more EI development and business acumen to execute their mandate. The research proposes a management framework to support a successful IT implementation in the African Oil and Gas industry.