Upcoming Events
EA Forum - Is Dark Data Killing The Planet? EA as a Sustainability Strategy to Address Digital Decarbonisation
With an ever-growing digital carbon footprint, addressing “dark data”—unused data that consumes resources without adding value—is crucial for sustainability. Enterprise Architecture (EA) offers a powerful approach to managing dark data sustainably, helping organisations minimise waste and reduce environmental impact.
Join us to explore how EA practices can redefine data management, strengthen data governance, and promote energy-efficient operations. This session will highlight actionable strategies for leveraging EA to drive sustainable practices and digital decarbonisation within your organisation, building a greener, more responsible digital ecosystem.
Prof. Hanlie Smuts holds a distinguished career in ICT with a strong focus on digital transformation, sustainable data management, and enterprise architecture. She currently serves as an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Informatics at the University of Pretoria, where she is also the Chair of the School of Information Technology. In her role, Prof. Smuts actively researches and teaches topics on digital ecosystems, disruptive technologies, big data management, and knowledge management. She has published extensively, and her expertise makes her a sought-after speaker.
EA Forum - Data Architecture for Business Value
Join us at this month’s EA Forum, where we’ll explore the topic "Data Architecture for Business Value." Traditional approaches to Enterprise and Data Architecture often focus on business and IT issues, but fail to address the critical component of value creation. This session will shift the conversation towards how Data Architecture can directly drive business value.
We’ll examine leading practices in Data Architecture, as well as the gaps and challenges that many organisations face when trying to unlock value from their data. A key highlight will be the introduction of a new role—the Data Value Architect—which goes beyond traditional data management to focus on delivering value as a key outcome of architecting the data landscape.
Zjaen Coetzee is the Business Development Executive for Business and Digital Advisory services at BCX. With over 14 years of experience in Telecommunications and ICT, Zjaen has expertise across data competencies including Governance, Strategy, and Data Architecture. A passionate advocate for the responsible use of data, Zjaen helps organisations unlock value through data-driven solutions.
EA Forum - Capability Maturity - A Global Perspective
EA Maturity Assessments take a close look at how well an organisation manages its enterprise architecture processes, skills, tools, and artefacts. They highlight what’s working and what needs fixing, helping to align EA and IT with business goals and prioritise the delivery of future EA initiatives - leading to smarter decisions and more capable architectures.
At this month’s EA Forum, we will look at what a capability maturity assessment is and what it isn’t, classes of assessment, standard methodologies, best practices, and how you could/should take a stab at assessing your EA capability maturity level.
With over 30 years of experience in IT, Enterprise Architecture, and Consulting, Andries van der Walt has worked across multiple sectors worldwide, including South Africa, Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, New Zealand, China, and the UK. He holds a B.Eng. and an MBA, and is accredited with CGEIT, Certified Cobit Assessor, CMMI Lead Appraiser, and is TOGAF certified. Andries is also an APMG Accredited trainer for COBIT and CGEIT.
EA Forum - AI Integration in Higher Education
AI Integration in Higher Education
Join us as UJ’s Francois Wolmarans, Senior Manager for Architecture and Planning, and seasoned open-source advocate and technologist, leads a compelling discussion on the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within higher education institutions.
He will explore both the challenges and opportunities of AI integration, focusing on strategic considerations necessary for its implementation and use. Topics will include AI research at the university using Language Learning Models (LLMs) for student support while addressing ethics and transparency, leveraging open-source LLM tools, and securing AI systems within university environments. Additionally, Francois will discuss the development of an AI architecture blueprint tailored to align with university goals and the integration of AI workflows into existing architectures.
With his extensive experience at the University of Johannesburg, Francois brings a wealth of knowledge in IT architecture and strategic planning in higher education. His deep involvement in the open-source community and commitment to ethical technology use provide him with unique insights that promise to make this session both informative and thought-provoking.
EA Forum - The Role of Business Processes in Digital Transformation
Join us at The Open Group EA Forum for an insightful session on how Digital Transformation can create value for stakeholders and foster a resilient, agile business environment. Experienced Business Consultant, Anneke Thorburn, will discuss how integrating technology across all business aspects requires rethinking business models and processes upfront. This means changing how the business operates, then making sure that clean, quality data is identified and available, and then changing the technologies.
Her presentation will highlight the significance of data and the optimisation of business processes for enhancing customer and staff experiences, driving efficiency, agility, innovation, and data-driven decision-making.
Anneke Thorburn heads up the Digital Advisory business unit within BCX and is responsible for areas such as: Enterprise Architecture, Business Analysis, Business Process Management, Business Architecture, IT Strategy and Governance, IT Service Management, Business Continuity Management and Organisational Change Management. BCX is a member of The Open Group Architecture Forum and active participant in the Enterprise Architecture Workgroup for Government.
EA Forum - Practicing EA: A Personal Journey
Join us at the EA Forum where Boitumelo Molete, Senior Manager EA at The University of Witwatersrand will draw on her work at the university to discuss her Enterprise Architecture (EA) journey within an educational context. The presentation will include tips on using EA to manage challenges both unique to the practice and to the industry, while offering insight into the transformative potential of EA within higher education and other sectors.
New TOGAF 10th Edition
We are delighted to invite you to our forthcoming EA Forum Seminar, where Stuart Macgregor, CEO Real IRM and The Open Group South Africa, will provide an overview of the new TOGAF Standard 10th Edition. He will illuminate some key aspects, including the new structure of the standard: the Core Standard and the TOGAF Series Guides, as well as the extension of the certification programme.
Stuart's presentation will also shed light on the significant updates and enhancements in the 10th Edition and its relevance to us in Africa
Following Stuart's talk, we invite you to join us for a networking session. This will present a wonderful opportunity to connect with Stuart and other attendees, discuss the insights gleaned from the seminar, and cultivate relationships within our enterprise architecture community.
New TOGAF 10th Edition
We are delighted to invite you to our forthcoming EA Forum Seminar, where Stuart Macgregor, CEO Real IRM and The Open Group South Africa, will provide an overview of the new TOGAF Standard 10th Edition. He will illuminate some key aspects, including the new structure of the standard: the Core Standard and the TOGAF Series Guides, as well as the extension of the certification programme.
Stuart's presentation will also shed light on the significant updates and enhancements in the 10th Edition and its relevance to us in Africa
Following Stuart's talk, we invite you to join us for a networking session. This will present a wonderful opportunity to connect with Stuart and other attendees, discuss the insights gleaned from the seminar, and cultivate relationships within our enterprise architecture community.
New TOGAF 10th Edition
We are delighted to invite you to our forthcoming EA Forum Seminar, where Stuart Macgregor, CEO Real IRM and The Open Group South Africa, will provide an overview of the new TOGAF Standard 10th Edition. He will illuminate some key aspects, including the new structure of the standard: the Core Standard and the TOGAF Series Guides, as well as the extension of the certification programme.
Stuart's presentation will also shed light on the significant updates and enhancements in the 10th Edition and its relevance to us in Africa
Following Stuart's talk, we invite you to join us for a networking session. This will present a wonderful opportunity to connect with Stuart and other attendees, discuss the insights gleaned from the seminar, and cultivate relationships within our enterprise architecture community.