A Knowledge Strategy

Figure 5: Enterprise ICT architecture framework
Strategic framework
(business model and strategies)
DBSA business process model
Information technology architecture
Data architecture
Application architecture
Infrastructure architecture
At present, the Bank has completed the first logical iteration of its enterprise
architecture in the form of the current or ‘as-is’ architecture. As we now unpack
the Vision 2010 and determine what this will require in terms of client needs,
products and services, any new or refined business processes and systems, we will
begin to evolve the ‘to-be’ architecture and supporting delivery strategy.
Now that the focus is on the data architecture, the Bank is starting to see the
shift in focus of the ICT strategy towards decision support and knowledge-related
systems. The development of the single source data repository is a critical element
in the strategy going forward and most of the new information system will point
towards this repository or virtual data warehouse as the primary source of
information. This presents the opportunity to begin to mine this data asset from
the point of view of business intelligence or customer relationships or simply as an
analytical tool. Figure 6 shows the organisational hierarchy and appropriateness of
the various types of tools to levels in an organisation.
The data repository also provides the opportunity to integrate some of the
other non-transactional data assets such as socio-economic statistics and time
series into the pool of information at the disposal of the new information systems
and tools. A word of caution needs to be expressed in that with the consolidation
of all the data assets and the sheer size of the resultant data repository we need to
be careful not to create new problems such as information overload or create data
navigation problems. The experience of some earlier data warehouse technologies
46 Development Bank of Southern Africa