Q: How long have you been involved with The Open Group?
I’ve been involved with The Open Group since September 2008, when I became TOGAF® certified.

Q: Why did you become a member and what does your involvement look like?
I became an Open Group member to learn, share and contribute to the Enterprise Architecture (EA) community and have been active in a few Work Groups, including the Cloud Computing, Interoperability and Chinese Translation Work Groups.

Recently I published a white paper introducing the “Emerging Information Technology Strategic Analysis Framework Leading Business.” I also attended The Open Group Conference, San Diego in February 2011 and gave a presentation about how to change and innovate business constructively by utilizing emerging information technologies.

Q: How has membership in The Open Group benefited you, your organization and the industry at large?

The Open Group provides a systematic platform for individual professionals and companies to share EA assets, learn from each other and develop the industry in a constructive manner. I have found The Open Group membership to be very helpful professionally, as I can access and reference TOGAF® and other valuable information for my work. Membership has also provided me and my company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, with great exposure through networking and conference speaking opportunities, and I truly believe that a company can improve its market image and brand awareness through The Open Group because of the organization’s strong reputation.

I think membership also enables The Open Group member to manage and execute its practice constructively, and therefore will move the industry forward consistently.

Q: What contributions to The Open Group are you most proud of?

I am proud of my white paper “Emerging Information Technology Strategic Analysis Framework Leading Business” which was published by The Open Group in January. The white paper went through a strict review process and ended up being approved by a 100 percent affirmative vote. Andrew Josey, Director of Standards for The Open Group, was extremely helpful with the review process, which was new to me.

I am also proud of the presentation that I gave at The Open Group Conference, San Diego in February 2011. 

Q: Why is it important for other organizations to join The Open Group?

The EA practice has a strategic impact on a company’s business and performance. By joining The Open Group, a company will gain a platform to learn, share and contribute in EA practice development, and therefore consistently build its EA practice capability (people, knowledge, assets, skills, etc.), which will become a key part of the company’s core competency. And the more organizations that join The Open Group, the more the EA industry will move forward, raising awareness of the discipline and the overall quality of enterprise architects.

Q: What are your hobbies?

I like to play golf and listen to classical music.

Q: What book are you currently reading?

I am a regular reader of Bloomberg Businessweek and am currently reading “The Wisdom of DAO” by YuTang Ling.

Q: Any last thoughts?

I’d like to see business leaders and executives become more involved as members of The Open Group, and I think that we can create more business- and strategy-oriented EA assets that are more interesting to them. The Open Group does a great job of promoting the value of EA and creating strategic EA assets for business leaders and executives. Business leader participation in activities such as conferences would not only improve communication and alignment between IT and business, but it would also raise the profile of the industry and increase the value of EA and standards like TOGAF®.   

About Frank Chen

Xijia (Frank) Chen is a value-driven principal enterprise architect, strategist, and senior manager at Cognizant Technology Solutions. He provides technology and strategy thought leadership and solutions through consulting services for Fortune 500 companies. He has extensive experience and a proven track record in developing business-driven enterprise architecture and strategic solutions for a broad range of companies across various industries internationally. By utilizing emerging technologies and business/management skills, he has architected strategic enterprise solutions, which enabled companies to create new business models or regenerate industry strategies to win against present competition and be well setup for the future.

Frank is a TOGAF® Certified Architect, a Sun Certified Enterprise Architect and a Sun Certified Java Programmer. Previously, he held the position of principal consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Frank holds an MBA from University of Southern California, a Masters in Computer Science from Louisiana Tech University, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Nanjing University of Technology.