R.E.A.L. - Realistic, Enabling, Actionable, Logical. Every day we hear jargon and see writing from so-called “experts,” and we don’t know what we should follow and what we should avoid. Published practices aren’t always best practices!
Listen to episodes from Sam Holcman’s radio show, webinars, and podcasts, Real Talk with Sam Holcman. Each episode gets to the bottom of what business executives, managers, practitioners, and staff actually need to create innovative solutions that deliver- no utopia required.
This business podcast provides practice-based insights into business transformation, enterprise architecture, business architecture, organizational transformation, and technology transformation based on real-world practices. We provide you with insights that can provide true value to organizations and individuals that face today’s and tomorrow’s competitive pressures and provide a usable takeaway from each program.
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R.E.A.L. - Realistic, Enabling, Actionable, Logical. Every day we hear jargon and see writing from so-called “experts,” and we don’t know what we should follow and what we should avoid. Published practices aren’t always best practices!
Listen to episodes from Sam Holcman’s radio show, webinars, and podcasts, Real Talk with Sam Holcman. Each episode gets to the bottom of what business executives, managers, practitioners, and staff actually need to create innovative solutions that deliver- no utopia required.
This business podcast provides practice-based insights into business transformation, enterprise architecture, business architecture, organizational transformation, and technology transformation based on real-world practices. We provide you with insights that can provide true value to organizations and individuals that face today’s and tomorrow’s competitive pressures and provide a usable takeaway from each program.
TOGAF® is talked about and used, but an increasing number of major practitioners and researchers argue that it misses several critical ingredients for modern, outcome‑driven enterprise architecture. In the age of EA 5.0, these critical ingredients are lacking. This broadcast will outline these ingredients that are lacking.
Today’s Broadcast. Billions were wasted, companies bankrupted, and governments embarrassed - all because of something we take for granted: software. This article is based on an outstanding article titled “Why Software Fails” by Robert N. Charette, in IEEE Spectrum December 2025. You have probably heard the old saying “software is eating the world.” But what happens when software eats itself?
When evaluating EA orBA advice, focus on whether the person, book, website, or post can demonstrate real decisions changed, risks reduced, or value created - not just fluency in frameworks and jargon. The most dependable advisors and materials walk through concrete situations, artifacts, and outcomes, and openly acknowledge what they learned. Remember that the time you spend consuming advice is often more valuable than the money you spend on it.
Agentic AI is accelerating all the trends that EA 5.0 and EACOE have been arguing for years: architecture must be business-led, continuously adaptive, and tightly connected to how work actually gets done. In this environment, EA shifts toward orchestrating agents, data, and business capabilities in real time, which is exactly the role EA 5.0 is designed to formalize.
Data Center Growth - Good or a Waste - One day, people will realize the DATA BELONGS TO ME – remember that quote I sent you from the inventor of the internet and the web. We do not need larger data centers – we need better data – in an organized manner. It begins with a classification system that organizes stuff – data. Think a library – the Dewey decimal system is the key to finding stuff – not endless building of libraries. In one study of medical databases, more than 50% of the total clinical text was found to be duplicated. Google says 60% of the internet is duplicate.
Developing an as-is model before a to-be model seems logical on the surface - understand where you are, then define where you want to go. Yet, in practice, this approach can unintentionally trap organizations with the limitations of their current reality. The deeper issue is not one of modeling techniques, but of human cognition: when people start by describing the present, they often lose their ability to imagine the future.
A thought leader is an authority figure recognized for their expertise in a specific field, often leading discussions and sharing insights that influence their industry. Self-declaration does not make someone a thought leader. Who are you actually getting information from?
Data drives Artificial Intelligence - not the other way around. It is the foundation upon which AI systems are built and the fuel that determines how powerful, accurate, and innovative they can become. The phrase “Data for AI” captures this reality: without high-quality, strategic data, AI cannot function effectively.
AI, driven by hype cycles, is disrupting and in many ways undermining the value of REAL (Realistic, Enabling, Actionable, Logical) Enterprise Architecture - turning a professional discipline into yet another fleeting trend much like previous waves of tool-centric or automation-driven approaches.
AI is everywhere - on every page, in every boardroom pitch, and across every trend report. But as any seasoned leader and practitioners know, what creates lasting competitive edge is not the technology buzzword of the moment. It is having an operating model that empowers smart choices, no matter what tool is in play.
The term “prompt engineering” has become popular in recent years to describe the process of carefully designing inputs - known as prompts. The phrase suggests that prompting is a deliberate, technical process similar to real engineering disciplines. Yet, when examined more closely, “engineering” may not be the most accurate word - perhaps the correct word is ”manipulation”.
Recent advancements AI have been touted to result in dramatic increases in productivity and consistency throughout Enterprise Architecture practices. However, our experience with our clients demonstrates that excessive dependence on AI-driven support - particularly for critical decisions - can bring significant risks to business operations and strategic integrity.
EA and BA often suffer from a common problem: the outputs produced by architecture teams may be technically accurate, yet they remain unusable for the decision-makers, stakeholders, and business leaders who most depend on them. This issue, known as Human Consume-ability, highlights the gap between creating models and architectures, and delivering insights that can be readily understood, trusted, and acted upon across organizational boundaries.
AI - Artificial Intelligence. OI - Origional Intelligence. While AI can excel at processing vast amounts of data and identifying patterns, Original Intelligence allows humans to recognize when solutions need to deviate from established norms or when data is incomplete or misleading. Learn more in this Broadcast
There is always a lot that we can learn from successful technology and software developments. There is also a lot we can learn, unfortunately, from technology and software development “failures”. In analyzing over twenty well documented and publicized failures, one fundamental issue came through loud and clear. A major mismatch between the enterprise data representations and processes, and the vendor’s data representations and processes. There is a pretty straightforward way to address this situation.
Yes, anything you say to AI can be used against you, including things that you thought were deleted. Yes, hitting the delete button or key really does not do anything. Let me translate. Public facing AI and associated models are “dangerous”. EAI – (Enterprise Augmented Information) – AI within the boundary of your Enterprise is the answer. Please listen. And we can help.
What is the oil that makes the artificial intelligence world run? Data. Data infrastructure is the key to moving away from guessing to true usefulness. Data infrastructure is made up of two parts – the actual technology, and the data itself. Billions are being spent on the technological side. The data itself is being starved. Why? Because it is hard. We will describe the five transformations needed to make data AI ready.
This broadcast is a commentary. One line I am quoting – “AI models should treat content taken from social media and the internet as untrustworthy sources.” Large Language Models (LLM) ARE the issue, and there is no solution to this – what is public is subject to manipulation. What is the answer to this issue? EAI – Enterprise Augmented (Almigated) Information. Also known as Small Language Model.
Buyers Remorse - Enterprise architecture (EA) and Business Architecture (BA) certifications are often seen as strategic moves - intended to elevate professional credibility, further organizational maturity, and equip leaders with frameworks and methodologies to drive business optimization and transformation. But, unfortunately, most certifications do not live up to these expectations.
R.E.A.L. - Realistic, Enabling, Actionable, Logical. Every day we hear jargon and see writing from so-called “experts,” and we don’t know what we should follow and what we should avoid. Published practices aren’t always best practices!
Listen to episodes from Sam Holcman’s radio show, webinars, and podcasts, Real Talk with Sam Holcman. Each episode gets to the bottom of what business executives, managers, practitioners, and staff actually need to create innovative solutions that deliver- no utopia required.
This business podcast provides practice-based insights into business transformation, enterprise architecture, business architecture, organizational transformation, and technology transformation based on real-world practices. We provide you with insights that can provide true value to organizations and individuals that face today’s and tomorrow’s competitive pressures and provide a usable takeaway from each program.
