A Response to Real-World Enterprise Challenges

By Matt Scolari

When I reflect on my time managing architecture teams inside large organisations—across government, education, and engineering consultancy—one thing is clear: traditional models no longer meet the complexity and pace of today’s digital enterprise.

Back then, the challenges were familiar:

• Architecture was seen as a gatekeeper, not an enabler.
• EA teams were stretched thin across too many projects at peak times.
• We produced beautiful artefacts that gathered dust.
• And when demand spiked, we scrambled.

It wasn’t a capability problem—it was a structureal one.

Architecture Is Critical, But Underserved

Enterprise architecture remains one of the few functions that can look across systems, silos, and strategic goals. Yet it's consistently underfunded, over-governed, and poorly understood.

According to a recent Gartner survey:
Only 26% of enterprise architects believe their work is understood and used by business stakeholders.

And in a 2025 IDC study:
72% of CIOs cited “lack of agile architecture” as a barrier to digital transformation.

The demand is there—but the model isn’t scaling.

The Rollercoaster of Internal EA Teams

On the ground, the experience is chaotic:

• One week you're mapping out a multi-year cloud migration strategy.
• The next, you're pulled into urgent integration triage.
• You're supporting governance boards and delivery squads—sometimes on the same day.

The team has to be deep and broad. Strategic and delivery-focused. Constantly up-skilling. But rarely resourced to flex with the demand curve.

And even when you do build the right muscle, it’s hard to retain. Talented architects want stimulating work and a path to impact. That’s tough when half the job is internal firefighting.

AaaS: Not Outsourcing. Partnering.

That’s why I’ve become a strong believer in Architecture-as-a-Service(AaaS)—but not in the “offload it to a vendor” sense.

Done right, AaaS is a partnership model:

• It provides on-demand capacity—elastic access to strategic and technical skills.
• It maintains continuity of thinking, even when internal teams shift priorities.
• It brings a portfolio lens—balancing short-term delivery with long-term architectural integrity, while keeping the enterprise aligned to its north star.

At Alkemiz, we’ve seen this model succeed across universities, government agencies, and national-scale enterprises. It’s not just about providing people—it’s about embedding architecture thinking where it matters most: at the point of decision-making.

What AaaS Looks Like in Practice

Here’s how some of our clients are applying AaaS in real-world scenarios:

• Transient Architecture Models to move from legacy to target state without paralysis.
• Architecture Guardrails integrated into agile delivery frameworks.
• Federated Governance Models that empower business units while maintaining cohesion.
• EA Accelerators to bootstrap alignment without starting from scratch.

We don’t show up with binders full of TOGAF diagrams.
We show up asking: “What are you trying to solve?” and “How do we architect around that reality?”

Final Thought: It’s About Relevance

At its core, AaaS is about making architecture relevant, embedded, and valued.

If you’re a CIO or CTO struggling to scale your architecture function, you’re not alone.
The answer isn’t always hiring more architects.
Sometimes it’s redesigning the model.

AaaS isn’t a silver bullet—but it’s a structure that meets the moment.
Let’s build something better.

Learn More: https://www.alkemiz.com.au/services/advisory-architecture

About the Author
Matt Scolari is an enterprise architecture leader and strategic advisor with 20+ years of experience spanning education, government, and enterprise transformation. At Alkemiz, he helps clients turn architecture into a strategic enabler through fit-for-purpose advisory, accelerators, and operating models like AaaS.