Enterprise Architecture & Roadmapping: From Chaos to Clarity
Stop letting legacy systems dictate your future.
We design pragmatic, AI-driven technology roadmaps that align IT with business strategy, reduce costs, and accelerate growth.
Trusted by Industry Leaders and Visionary Startups
Is Your Technology Empowering or Encumbering Your Business?
Many enterprises operate with a complex, aging, and fragmented IT landscape. This technical debt creates a drag on innovation, inflates costs, and prevents the business from adapting to market changes. The result is a frustrating gap between business ambition and technological capability.
Without a clear enterprise architecture and a strategic roadmap, you risk investing in redundant technologies, creating more data silos, and falling behind competitors who leverage a more agile, integrated, and scalable foundation. It's time to move from reactive firefighting to proactive, strategic planning that turns your technology landscape into a competitive advantage.
Why Partner with CIS for Enterprise Architecture?
We don't just create diagrams; we deliver actionable blueprints for transformation. Our approach combines deep technical expertise with a sharp focus on business outcomes, ensuring your IT strategy becomes a powerful engine for growth.
AI-Powered Assessment
We leverage proprietary AI tools to rapidly analyze your current-state architecture, identifying redundancies, risks, and optimization opportunities in weeks, not months. This data-driven approach provides objective insights to kickstart the roadmapping process.
Pragmatic & Actionable Roadmaps
Our roadmaps are not theoretical exercises. We deliver phased, practical plans with clear milestones, dependencies, and resource considerations. Each step is designed to deliver incremental value and build momentum for your transformation journey.
Business-Outcome Focused
Every recommendation we make is tied directly to a specific business capability or strategic goal. We translate complex technical decisions into clear business impact, whether it's reducing operational costs, improving customer experience, or accelerating time-to-market.
Cross-Industry Expertise
With over 20 years of experience across finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, we bring a wealth of knowledge and best practices. We understand your industry's unique challenges and opportunities, ensuring your architecture is not just modern, but also contextually relevant.
Vendor-Agnostic & Unbiased
Our only allegiance is to your success. We provide objective, unbiased recommendations based on what's best for your unique ecosystem, without being tied to any specific technology vendor or platform. This ensures you get the right solution, not just the one someone is selling.
Verifiable Process Maturity
Our CMMI Level 5 and ISO 27001 certifications are not just badges on a wall. They represent a deep commitment to quality, security, and predictable delivery. You can trust that our processes are robust, repeatable, and designed to de-risk your most critical initiatives.
Collaborative Partnership
We work as an extension of your team, fostering knowledge transfer and building internal consensus. Our goal is to empower your organization to own and evolve the architecture long after our engagement is complete.
End-to-End Lifecycle Support
Our expertise doesn't stop at the roadmap. As a full-service technology partner, we can support you through every phase of implementation, from cloud migration and application modernization to data engineering and ongoing managed services.
Full IP & Ownership Transfer
You own 100% of the intellectual property. All architectural diagrams, documentation, roadmaps, and strategic assets we create for you are yours to keep, ensuring you have full control over your technology future.
Our Comprehensive Enterprise Architecture Services
We offer a full spectrum of services to help you define, design, and execute your technology vision, from high-level strategy to detailed implementation planning.
1. Current-State Architecture Assessment
We conduct a deep-dive analysis of your existing IT landscape, including applications, data, infrastructure, and security, to establish a comprehensive baseline.
- Identify pain points, technical debt, and operational risks.
- Map technology assets to business capabilities.
- Utilize AI-powered tools for accelerated discovery and analysis.
2. Target-State Architecture Definition
Collaboratively, we design a future-state architecture that is scalable, resilient, secure, and perfectly aligned with your long-term business objectives.
- Define architectural principles and standards.
- Create blueprints for application, data, and technology domains.
- Model various scenarios to ensure future-readiness.
3. Multi-Year Transformation Roadmapping
We translate the target architecture into a practical, phased implementation plan that balances quick wins with long-term strategic goals.
- Prioritize initiatives based on business value and feasibility.
- Define clear work packages, timelines, and dependencies.
- Develop a compelling business case with ROI analysis.
4. Application Portfolio Rationalization (APR)
We help you optimize your application landscape by identifying redundant, outdated, or low-value applications to reduce costs and complexity.
- Categorize applications using the TIME model (Tolerate, Invest, Migrate, Eliminate).
- Develop strategies for consolidation, retirement, or modernization.
- Free up significant budget for strategic innovation.
5. Technology Stack Modernization
We guide you in selecting and adopting modern technologies—like microservices, serverless, and containers—to build agility and speed into your development lifecycle.
- Assess readiness for new technology adoption.
- Design pilot programs and proof-of-concepts.
- Create patterns and best practices for successful implementation.
6. Cloud Adoption Strategy & Roadmap
We develop a holistic cloud strategy that goes beyond "lift-and-shift," focusing on cloud-native architectures to maximize the benefits of AWS, Azure, or GCP.
- Determine the right cloud model (public, private, hybrid, multi-cloud).
- Plan workload migration and application refactoring.
- Establish cloud governance and cost management (FinOps) frameworks.
7. Data Architecture & Governance Strategy
We design modern data platforms and governance models that break down silos, ensure data quality, and enable advanced analytics and AI.
- Architect data lakes, data warehouses, and data mesh solutions.
- Implement Master Data Management (MDM) and data catalogs.
- Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
8. API & Integration Strategy
We create a robust integration framework using APIs and microservices to enable seamless data flow and build a composable enterprise.
- Design an API-first architecture and governance model.
- Select the right iPaaS and API management platforms.
- Enable an ecosystem of connected applications and services.
9. Security Architecture & Zero-Trust Roadmap
We embed security into the core of your architecture, moving towards a Zero-Trust model to protect your critical assets in a perimeter-less world.
- Conduct security posture and threat model assessments.
- Design secure-by-default architectures for cloud and on-premise.
- Develop a phased roadmap for implementing Zero-Trust principles.
10. IT Operating Model Design
We help you align your IT organization, processes, and skills with your new technology architecture to ensure successful adoption and execution.
- Structure teams around products and value streams.
- Implement Agile, DevOps, and SRE practices.
- Define roles, responsibilities, and governance structures.
11. Business Capability Mapping
We bridge the gap between business and IT by creating a clear map of your core business capabilities and the technologies that support them.
- Identify strategic capabilities that drive competitive advantage.
- Pinpoint technology gaps and investment priorities.
- Ensure IT investments are directly linked to business strategy.
12. M&A Technology Integration Strategy
We provide the architectural expertise to ensure smooth and rapid technology integration during mergers and acquisitions, maximizing synergy and minimizing disruption.
- Conduct pre-deal due diligence on target IT landscapes.
- Develop a Day 1 and post-merger integration roadmap.
- Harmonize applications, data, and infrastructure.
13. Cost Optimization & TCO Analysis
We perform a thorough Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis of your IT landscape to identify concrete opportunities for cost savings and budget reallocation.
- Analyze infrastructure, licensing, and operational costs.
- Model the financial impact of modernization initiatives.
- Build a self-funding model for your transformation program.
14. Governance & Compliance Frameworks
We establish robust governance processes to ensure your architecture evolves in a controlled and strategic manner, while meeting regulatory requirements.
- Set up an Architecture Review Board (ARB).
- Define standards, policies, and review processes.
- Automate compliance checks within your CI/CD pipeline.
15. GenAI Integration & Architecture Strategy
We help you move beyond experimentation to strategically integrate Generative AI into your enterprise architecture for transformative business value.
- Design scalable architectures for hosting and fine-tuning LLMs.
- Develop strategies for data privacy and security in AI applications.
- Create a roadmap for building AI-powered copilots and agents.
Our Proven 4-Phase Approach to Architectural Transformation
We follow a structured, collaborative methodology to ensure a comprehensive and successful engagement from discovery to delivery.
Phase 1: Discover & Assess
We begin by understanding your business goals and conducting a thorough, AI-assisted analysis of your current technology landscape to identify key challenges and opportunities.
Phase 2: Envision & Design
Working with your stakeholders, we define a future-state vision and design a target architecture that is robust, scalable, and aligned with your strategic objectives.
Phase 3: Plan & Roadmap
We develop a pragmatic, multi-year roadmap that breaks the transformation into manageable, value-driven initiatives with clear timelines, costs, and dependencies.
Phase 4: Govern & Evolve
We help you establish the governance structures and processes needed to manage, measure, and continuously evolve your enterprise architecture as your business grows.
Real-World Results: From Blueprint to Business Impact
Our architectural guidance has empowered clients across industries to overcome complex challenges and achieve significant, measurable outcomes.
Case Study: Unifying a Fragmented Global Financial Platform
Industry: Banking & Financial Services
Client Overview: A multinational investment bank with a sprawling, siloed technology landscape resulting from years of regional autonomy and acquisitions. They faced high operational costs, inconsistent customer experiences, and significant regulatory compliance challenges due to a lack of a unified architectural vision.
Key Challenges:
- Over 30 redundant core banking systems across different regions.
- Inability to get a single, global view of customer data and risk.
- Slow development cycles for new financial products.
- Escalating maintenance costs for legacy mainframe systems.
Our Solution:
We developed a comprehensive enterprise architecture and a five-year transformation roadmap focused on creating a "Global One-Bank" platform.
- Designed a target-state architecture based on a microservices, API-first model.
- Created a master data management (MDM) strategy to unify customer data.
- Developed a phased application rationalization plan to decommission 18 legacy systems.
- Architected a secure, compliant multi-cloud foundation to host the new platform.
"CIS provided the clarity and strategic direction we desperately needed. Their roadmap was not just a technical document; it was a business transformation plan that got buy-in from the board and our global teams. We are finally moving as one unified organization."
- Alex Royce, Global CIO
Case Study: Architecting a Smart Factory (Industry 4.0) Foundation
Industry: Manufacturing
Client Overview: A major automotive parts manufacturer wanted to embrace Industry 4.0 to improve production efficiency and enable predictive maintenance. Their existing factory floor systems were isolated, with no ability to collect or analyze real-time data from their machinery.
Key Challenges:
- Lack of connectivity between Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) systems.
- Inability to collect and process vast amounts of sensor data.
- High rates of unplanned machine downtime.
- No scalable platform for deploying machine learning models.
Our Solution:
We designed a scalable Industrial IoT (IIoT) and data architecture to serve as the foundation for their smart factory initiatives.
- Architected a multi-tiered edge computing and cloud data platform.
- Defined a standard for secure data ingestion from PLCs and industrial sensors.
- Created a data governance model for manufacturing data.
- Developed a roadmap for deploying a predictive maintenance solution, starting with a single production line.
"The architecture CIS designed was the critical missing piece. It bridged the gap between our factory floor and our data scientists. We're now making decisions based on real-time data, not guesswork, and the impact on our bottom line has been immediate."
- Jenna Clay, VP of Operations
Case Study: Building a Composable Commerce Architecture
Industry: Retail
Client Overview: A large fashion retailer with a monolithic e-commerce platform that was slow, difficult to update, and unable to support modern omnichannel experiences like buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) and social commerce.
Key Challenges:
- Inability to quickly launch new customer-facing features.
- Poor mobile experience and slow page load times.
- No single view of inventory across online and physical stores.
- High licensing costs for the monolithic platform.
Our Solution:
We designed a target-state architecture based on MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) principles to create a flexible, composable commerce platform.
- Developed a roadmap to decouple the front-end from the back-end systems.
- Architected a set of Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs) for functions like cart, checkout, and search.
- Designed an enterprise integration layer to synchronize inventory, order, and customer data in real-time.
- Created a governance plan for managing a multi-vendor, best-of-breed technology ecosystem.
"Moving to a composable architecture was daunting, but CIS gave us the confidence and the plan to execute it flawlessly. We can now innovate at the speed of our customers' expectations, launching new experiences in days instead of months."
- Marcus Dyer, Chief Digital Officer
Frameworks, Tools & Technologies We Leverage
We utilize industry-standard frameworks and modern tools to ensure our architectural work is rigorous, comprehensive, and aligned with best practices.
Frameworks: TOGAF, Zachman Framework, ArchiMate, C4 Model, ITIL, SAFe
Meet Our Lead Enterprise Architects
Our team is composed of seasoned architects and strategists with decades of experience guiding complex enterprise transformations.
What Our Clients Say
The roadmap CIS delivered was a game-changer. It gave us a clear, defensible plan to present to our board and finally secured the funding for our modernization program. Their team understood our business challenges, not just our tech stack.
We were drowning in technical debt. The application rationalization process they led was eye-opening. We've already decommissioned six legacy systems and saved over $1.2M in annual licensing fees. Their process was methodical and inclusive.
Their expertise in cloud architecture was invaluable. They didn't just give us a lift-and-shift plan; they designed a truly cloud-native target state that has dramatically improved our scalability and developer productivity. A true partner in our cloud journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
The duration varies depending on the complexity of your organization. A typical current-state assessment and future-state roadmapping engagement can range from 8 to 16 weeks. We focus on delivering initial findings and recommendations quickly to build momentum.
An enterprise architecture is a living entity. We help you establish a governance process, often including an Architecture Review Board (ARB), to continuously evaluate new technologies and business needs. The roadmap is designed to be adaptable, with regular reviews to ensure it remains aligned with your strategic direction.
Collaboration is key to success. We require active participation from key stakeholders across business and IT, including subject matter experts, application owners, and executive leadership. We typically conduct a series of workshops and interviews to gather information and build consensus.
We are proficient in all major EA frameworks, including TOGAF, Zachman, and ArchiMate. However, we don't apply them dogmatically. We use them as a toolbox, selecting the most appropriate concepts and artifacts to create a tailored approach that is practical and valuable for your specific organization, avoiding unnecessary complexity.
ROI is measured through a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Quantitative measures include cost savings from application decommissioning, reduced infrastructure spend, and lower maintenance costs. Qualitative measures include improved business agility (faster time-to-market), reduced risk, enhanced customer satisfaction, and improved employee productivity.
Ready to Build Your Technology Future?
Let's transform your technology landscape from a cost center into a strategic asset. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our enterprise architects to discuss your challenges and chart a course for success.
Get Your Free ConsultationLet's Start the Conversation
Your journey to architectural clarity begins here. Fill out the form, and one of our senior architects will contact you to schedule an initial discussion. We're ready to help you build a resilient, agile, and future-proof enterprise.
What to expect:
- A brief, confidential call to understand your key objectives.
- An overview of our approach and relevant case studies.
- A clear outline of next steps if there's a mutual fit.
Email: info@cisin.com