The Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN) is a global, open framework that standardises banking architecture to drive interoperability, efficiency, and agility in financial services. At this month’s EA Forum, Rizwana Cassim, Enterprise Architect at Standard Bank Group, will share insights into how BIAN is shaping Standard Bank’s architecture landscape. Head of Enterprise Architecture for Corporate Functions, Tony Maimane, will present his thesis on the opportunities and challenges of BIAN adoption, using Standard Bank as a reference.

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.  Prof. Hanlie Smuts explores how EA practices can redefine data management, strengthen data governance, and promote energy-efficient operations.

Traditional approaches to Enterprise and Data Architecture often focus on business and IT issues, but fail to address the critical component of value creation. Zjaen Coetzee's presentation shifts the conversation towards how Data Architecture can directly drive business value. It examines 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 is 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.

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.

Francois Wolmarans' presentation looks at the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within higher education institutions. He explores both the challenges and opportunities of AI integration, focusing on strategic considerations necessary for its implementation and use. Topics 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. 

Anneke Thorburn discusses 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.