Forrester defines enterprise architecture management suites (EAMSes) as:

A foundation for capturing, managing, and reporting on a firm’s strategic and operational assets, defining the relationships between those assets, and assessing the effectiveness and efficiencies of those assets with the purpose of providing insights that may influence or guide the strategic direction of the firm.

Our latest Forrester report, “Now Tech: Enterprise Architecture Management Suites, Q4 2018,” informs enterprise architecture professionals on the EAMS vendors’ relative strengths in key capabilities. This report enables EA professionals to select vendors based on their market presence and functionality. To assist in this selection, we analyzed 22 EAMS vendors across three market presence categories — large, medium, and small — and 19 key capabilities.

To explore the differentiation of EAMS vendors, we segmented the 22 EAMS vendors into single-product, multi-product, and platform-based offerings. Single-product EAMS vendors provide standalone on-premises or cloud-based products. Multi-product EAMS vendors provide a suite comprising two or more integrated products. Platform-based EAMS vendors provide EA capabilities and services built on a third party’s platform — for example, ServiceNow.

When selecting an EAMS, we recommend building a shortlist based on the alignment of the EAMS segment and your organization’s preferred software tool strategy. To assist in this selection process, we have additionally created data tables that provide an overview of the 22 vendors we researched, with details on each key functionality category, geography, and vertical market focus.

Remember, it is critical that your organization’s EA professionals make evaluations based on your organization’s specific EA needs to determine if a vendor can support your goals and aid in your EA transformation.

For more information, check out “Now Tech: Enterprise Architecture Management Suites, Q4 2018.”