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SAN DIEGO, ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE PRACTITIONERS CONFERENCE, Jan. 29, 2007 – The Open Group, a vendor- and technology-neutral consortium focused on open standards and global interoperability within and between enterprises, today announced the launch of a new professional association for enterprise architects. Called The Association of Open Group Enterprise Architects (AOGEA), the body was formed to further the profession by maintaining and enforcing standards of excellence and ethics for all members, much like the fields of law and accounting. The Association aims to increase job opportunities for its members and provide employers with enterprise architects whose skills are based on recognized best practices and transferable between companies. Prior to launch, the AOGEA registered over 700 Open Group certified practitioners as founding members.
“Enterprise architecture is arguably one of the most significant techniques to arrive on the IT scene since the formalization of object-oriented design methods,” said Andras Szakal, distinguished engineer and chief architect, IBM Federal Software Group. “The Association of Open Group Enterprise Architects will help ensure that the profession evolves in line with globally recognized benchmarks of excellence and ethical standards – key requirements for continued innovation in this field over time.”
To effectively align IT with business goals, organizations must increasingly adopt a city planner perspective of the enterprise. This has created strong demand for a new class of highly skilled professionals called enterprise architects who can communicate effectively with every level of their organization. In addition, companies are seeking enterprise architects whose skills have been professionally certified. For example, more than 2,000 individuals have completed The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF™) certification and approximately 1,700 practitioners been achieved the organization’s IT Architecture Certification (ITAC) since both programs debuted two years ago. These numbers demonstrate the need for both large and small businesses and public sector organizations to embrace industry standards as a basis for certifying the skills and capabilities of their enterprise architects.
“The Association formed in response to feedback from literally thousands of certified enterprise architects and their more than 300 employers who make up The Open Group’s membership,” said Allen Brown, president and CEO, The Open Group. “We’ve responded to their demand for professional oversight with The Association. The goal is to advance the profession of enterprise architecture for the mutual benefit of individual practitioners and the industry at large.”
The Association aims to offer several benefits to its members, including enhanced career opportunities through promoting the value of the profession to employers, extensive knowledge sharing and networking within a peer community. The Association will also offer professional development via participation in globally recognized certification programs; local chapters; special interest groups; workgroups; bulletin boards; job boards; and resume postings. The Association’s website can be found at http://www.aogea.org.
“A CIO building a team in today’s complex IT environment must identify enterprise architects whose experience meets an accepted set of professional standards,” said Ronald Schmelzer, senior analyst, ZapThink. “When hiring accountants or lawyers, businesses can be assured of their credentials. The formation of The Association will ultimately provide CIOs worldwide with the same level confidence when hiring enterprise architects.”
AOGEA Membership Grades
The Association offers multiple membership grades for a range of professional and aspiring enterprise architects. “Member” is the primary professional grade of AOGEA and is open to TOGAF and ITAC certified professionals. The Association’s senior professional grade, or “Fellow,” will be open to applicants who have completed five years as a Member and hold a senior enterprise architecture position within the IT industry. “Associate,” “Student,” and “Affiliate” membership grades are also available to individuals interested in enterprise architecture.
For more information on the various membership grades or to join The Association of Open Group Enterprise Architects, please visit: https://www.aogea.org/membership/.
The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow™ that will enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry’s premier certification service. Further information on The Open Group can be found at http://www.opengroup.org.
Note to editors: Boundaryless Information Flow and TOGAF are trademarks of The Open Group. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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