Today’s enterprise architecture (EA) practices are critical to enable a firm’s customer-obsessed digital transformations. As more traditional EA practices become commoditized, Enterprise Architecture Management Suite (EAMS) vendors that show strong use cases to support real transformations will emerge as market leaders. These transformation-enabling use cases include AI-powered features, provide sustainability, modelling and assessment capacities, and architecture empowering functions.
We just published the Forrester Wave on Enterprise Architecture Management Suites where we evaluated the 12 most significant vendors — Ardoq, Avolution, Bee360, Bizzdesign, BOC Group, MEGA International, North Highland, Orbus Software, SAP LeanIX, Software AG, Sparx Systems, and Value Blue — on their current offering, strategy, and customer feedback. Of these 12 vendors, four Leaders emerged: Orbus Software, Bizzdesign, Mega International, and Software AG. Our assessment unveils that the leading vendors stand out because:
They possess competitive AI use case capabilities. AI is in its nascent stage, and forward-thinking leaders have swiftly capitalized on this emerging technology. Key features offered by the market leaders include text recommendation engines, chatbots, smart agents, and AI-assisted roadmap capabilities. These functionalities leverage common large language models (LLMs) and incorporate the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technique to enhance performance and accuracy.
They offer ways to support sustainability goals. Sustainability features are a key differentiator for each leader. These include a hub capacity that enables strategic planning and measurement of the IT estate, from materiality assessment to carbon footprint calculation, as well as integration with sustainability software.
They provide the best modelling and assessment capacities. Diagramming and visual comparisons of objects are foundational features of EA tools, rooted in the core competencies of architects. Leading providers offer advanced capabilities such as process modeling, process mining, business capability mapping, and comprehensive assessments, all essential for effective analysis and communication.
They empower architects, helping them being more proficient. Leaders consistently focus on empowering architects through various means, including digital twins, EA democratization, process mining, low-code/no-code solutions, demand management, strategic portfolio management, and architecture decision records. They also promote the use of APIs and microservices to encourage loose coupling.
Forrester clients should use the report to create a shortlist of relevant EAMS vendors. Forrester clients can also book a guidance session or inquiry with me to discuss how to apply the Wave to their specific requirements.
I would like to thank my colleague Paul McKay for his continuous support and editorial guidance, and of course Min Say, who made this complex project a relatively easy task.
