System Architecture’s Post

I am a huge proponent of putting technology guardrails in place to drive better technology decisions within an organization. By guardrails, I mean "whatever" - policies, principles, standards, reference architectures, non-functional requirements, etc. But this isn't just important as a governance activity, it is important as an educational activity. I think architects tend to assume that people who work around enterprise alignment are actively being non-conformist. Often times people don't make the right decision for the enterprise, because they don't know what that would look like or why they should be doing it! Providing documented guidance and education can go a very long way to improving the direction of decisions. Here is a case study on that topic. #solutionarchitecture #enterprisearchitecture

Using a simple model of enterprise architecture (front-to-back), we examine the factors that can affect stability and create a list of controls to ensure maximum availability (#1 requirement from a user's perspective). We will use the term system to denote the ensemble of components comprising the architecture. Let's start with some observations. 1. System stability is often affected by change. 2. System stability can be maintained by detecting and take action on warning alerts. 3. System stability can be sustained by regular/periodic maintenance. From these observations, we can derive some key controls: 1. Robust change management processes - valudation of changes in lower environments with testing sign-off. 2. Robust monitoring/Observability systems - pages should be used for critical alerts, tickets for less critical issues. 3. Robust maintenance procedures - ensure latest patches/app/software versions are deployed. This is a minimum list of controls to ensure system stability. Each of this topics can be explored further, with specific procedures being employed to track the efficiency of the controls.

#SecurityArchitecture is a cross-cutting concern, pervasive through the whole #EnterpriseArchitecture. A security architecture is a structure of organizational, conceptual, logical, and physical components that interact in a coherent fashion to achieve and maintain a state of managed risk. It is an enabler of secure, safe, resilient, and reliable behavior and upholds privacy at risk areas throughout the whole enterprise. Security architecture components always have a relationship with other elements in the architecture. Thus, although the security architecture might be viewed as one architecture, it can never be an isolated architecture. That would be meaningless. After all, security is not the problem of security architects; it is a concern for the enterprise. In the context of security architecture, risk can be operational or business-related. Security architecture contains a balanced view on risk: negative consequences are kept to an acceptable level, and positive opportunities are exploited to their maximum. The business-driven approach is key for the security architecture: business drivers offer the context for risk assessments. They define whether compliance with any control framework is necessary, and they justify the need for security measures. In Figure, the visualization does not convey that one domain is a subset of the other. The idea is that integration and security domains touch business, data, application, and technology domains. Security architecture is a cross-cutting concern, pervasive through the whole EA. As a cross-cutting concern, the security architecture impacts and informs business, application, data, and technology architectures. The security architecture may often be organized outside of the architecture scope, yet parts of it need to be developed in an integrated fashion with the architecture. Source: The Open Group #TransformPartner – Your #DigitalTransformation Consultancy

#SecurityArchitecture is a cross-cutting concern, pervasive through the whole #EnterpriseArchitecture.

😎Business can benefit from #MultiTenant architecture in software while minimizing its challenges, including improved security, cost efficiency, and better resource utilization, etc. 📈Check out why and how here👇 https://lnkd.in/gwFqdGZC

SABSA and Zero Trust (Part 1 of 6) – An Architects View  An Introduction to SABSA and Zero Trust Principles Before we delve too deeply into building SABSA and Zero-Trust architecture, I wanted to provide an overview of the Sherwood Applied Business Security Architecture (SABSA) methodology and how it aligns with zero-trust principles. SABSA offers a layered, attribute-driven approach to designing enterprise security architecture from a business perspective. It allows organisations to map business needs, assets, and risks to required security capabilities in a structured manner. Some key concepts in SABSA include: ·       Business Attributes – qualities like accountability, integrity, and availability that security must enable. ·       Domains – parts of the business ecosystem like people, processes, and technology. ·       Risks – potential business impacts security architecture must mitigate. ·       Security services – controls like identity, encryption, and monitoring required to address risks. ·       A core benefit of SABSA is its focus on ensuring security solutions meet business requirements and priorities. Now let's discuss zero trust, which centres on three key philosophies: ·       Least privilege access – Users only get minimum access to assets needed for a task. ·       Continuous verification – All access and activity should be continually authenticated and authorized. ·       Micro-segmentation – Assets and users are grouped into secure zones with granular access controls. As you can see, SABSA and zero trust share critical alignment in their intent to connect security tightly with business objectives. SABSA's structured approach can enable organisations to effectively translate zero-trust ideals into reality. In upcoming posts, I will share more examples we have gained at Tacenda of how SABSA's attribute-based models, like the SABSA matrix, empower zero-trust architecture planning, implementation, and operations. I welcome a discussion on how these concepts and methodologies can be applied to your unique security needs and goals. Please let me know if you have any additional questions!

Integrating Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture (CSMA) into Enterprise Security Architecture Integrating Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture (CSMA) into Enterprise Security Architecture involves incorporating the principles and concepts of CSMA into the overall design and implementation of the organisation's security infrastructure. Considerations for integrating CSMA into Enterprise Security Architecture: UNDERSTANDING CSMA: Familiarise yourself with the principles and benefits of CSMA. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dwjugJ3v CSMA emphasises the creation of a collaborative ecosystem of security tools and controls, centralising the data and control plane for effective collaboration and enhanced security capabilities. Assessing Existing Security Architecture: a. Evaluate the organisation's current Enterprise Security Architecture to identify areas where CSMA can be integrated. Look for opportunities to enhance security by leveraging the principles of composability, scalability, and interoperability. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dHDVSYCW 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dNmfxnTY 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dV3W4tdt Identifying Security Tool Integration: Identify the security tools and controls within the organisation's security infrastructure that can be integrated into the CSMA framework. This may involve assessing the compatibility and interoperability of existing tools or considering the adoption of new tools that align with CSMA principles. Defining Data and Control Plane Integration: Determine how the data and control plane will be centralised to enable effective collaboration between security tools. This may involve implementing a centralised security management platform or leveraging APIs and integrations to facilitate communication and data sharing between tools. Establishing Consistent Policies and Playbooks: Define consistent security policies, posture, and playbooks that can be applied across the integrated security tools. This ensures a unified approach to security and facilitates efficient responses to security incidents. 6. Adaptive and Granular Access Control: Leverage the capabilities of CSMA to implement adaptive and granular access control mechanisms. This allows for context-aware security and more precise control over access to resources based on individual device or user profiles. 7. Ongoing Monitoring and Optimisation: Continuously monitor and optimise the integrated security architecture to ensure its effectiveness. Regularly assess the performance, interoperability, and alignment with evolving security requirements and industry best practices. #enterprisesecurity #infosec #EnterpriseSecurityArchitecture

Application architecture is a vital component of enterprise architecture, focusing on the design and structure of individual application services and their interactions. It defines the relationship between business processes and the applications that support them, ensuring alignment between business objectives and technology solutions.  

What is Zachman Framework? The Zachman Framework is a powerful tool for managing change and modeling existing functions, elements, and processes in organizations. It's an enterprise ontology and a fundamental structure for Enterprise Architecture, which has evolved to structure businesses and align them with IT systems. The Zachman Framework provides a way of viewing an enterprise and its information systems from different perspectives, showing how the components of the enterprise are related. #EA #TOGAF https://lnkd.in/d2jsatfA

[Case Study] Information Architecture Overhaul for a Growing Technology Enterprise This case study examines the scenario: A rapidly growing technology firm is struggling with its existing Information Architecture. The company has scaled its operations and market share significantly in the past few years, thereby experiencing advanced complexities and inefficiencies in its Information Architecture. The firm hopes to redesign its current architecture to support its business growth and upcoming strategic initiatives. The growing complexities in the company's existing Information Architecture could be due to poor architectural design, improper management of data, or the integration of multiple disparate systems due to rapid growth. A thorough investigation and analysis will verify these hypotheses. A 5-phase approach to Information Architecture would possibly benefit the organization. Each phase delineates key activities, potential insights, and challenges: Assess Current State: Evaluate the existing architecture, identify gaps, and document the functionalities needed to support strategic initiatives. Design Future State: Create a future state architecture that aligns with the firm's growth plans and strategic objectives. Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/dVACsR_f