Join us at the EA Forum as we explore how a Business Process Management (BPM) capability serves as the missing link between strategy, operations, and technology—driving an integrated and value-driven Enterprise Architecture.

In today’s complex business landscape, organisations often struggle to translate strategy into execution. A strong BPM capability ensures that business processes are not just optimised, but seamlessly integrated into the broader architecture framework, enabling agility, efficiency, and long-term success.

In his presentation, Khumbudzo Mashamba will touch on…

• The strategic importance of BPM – why it should be a core enterprise asset.

• How to build and structure a BPM capability – governance, tools, and methodologies.

• BPM’s role in creating a connected and agile Enterprise Architecture.

• Best practices for funding and sustaining BPM to maximise impact.

Khumbudzo Mashamba is a seasoned Business Process Management professional with nearly a decade of experience in designing, implementing, and evolving BPM capabilities. His expertise is rooted in hands-on experience, having successfully led BPM initiatives that align process excellence with enterprise architecture priorities.

Currently leading the Centre of Excellence and BPM portfolio at one of South Africa’s top financial services providers, Khumbudzo is passionate about integrated architectural disciplines and ensuring that enterprise architecture is deeply anchored in business value.

Join us at the EA Forum for a discussion on the use of BIAN at Standard Bank.

The Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN) is a global, open framework that standardises banking architecture to drive interoperability, efficiency, and agility in financial services. At this month’s EA Forum, Rizwana Cassim, Enterprise Architect at Standard Bank Group, will share insights into how BIAN is shaping Standard Bank’s architecture landscape. Head of Enterprise Architecture for Corporate Functions, Tony Maimane, will present his thesis on the opportunities and challenges of BIAN adoption, using Standard Bank as a reference.

Rizwana is an Enterprise Architect at Standard Bank Group with over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. A seasoned data specialist, she has worked across all major data management disciplines. Over the past two years, she has played a pivotal role in steering Standard Bank’s BIAN journey, helping shape its architecture landscape to align with modern banking standards.

Tony is Head of Enterprise Architecture for Corporate Functions at Standard Bank. He specialises in aligning IT strategy with business goals, leading complex, multi-phase IT projects, and driving enterprise architecture innovation. With a strong track record of transforming financial services, he is passionate about leveraging technology to enhance customer experience, optimise performance, and enable business growth.

With an ever-growing digital carbon footprint, addressing “dark data”—unused data that consumes resources without adding value—is crucial for sustainability. Enterprise Architecture (EA) offers a powerful approach to managing dark data sustainably, helping organisations minimise waste and reduce environmental impact. 

Join us to explore how EA practices can redefine data management, strengthen data governance, and promote energy-efficient operations. This session will highlight actionable strategies for leveraging EA to drive sustainable practices and digital decarbonisation within your organisation, building a greener, more responsible digital ecosystem.

Prof. Hanlie Smuts holds a distinguished career in ICT with a strong focus on digital transformation, sustainable data management, and enterprise architecture. She currently serves as an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Informatics at the University of Pretoria, where she is also the Chair of the School of Information Technology. In her role, Prof. Smuts actively researches and teaches topics on digital ecosystems, disruptive technologies, big data management, and knowledge management. She has published extensively, and her expertise makes her a sought-after speaker.

Join us at this month’s EA Forum, where we’ll explore the topic "Data Architecture for Business Value." Traditional approaches to Enterprise and Data Architecture often focus on business and IT issues, but fail to address the critical component of value creation. This session will shift the conversation towards how Data Architecture can directly drive business value.

We’ll examine leading practices in Data Architecture, as well as the gaps and challenges that many organisations face when trying to unlock value from their data. A key highlight will be the introduction of a new role—the Data Value Architect—which goes beyond traditional data management to focus on delivering value as a key outcome of architecting the data landscape.

Zjaen Coetzee is the Business Development Executive for Business and Digital Advisory services at BCX. With over 14 years of experience in Telecommunications and ICT, Zjaen has expertise across data competencies including Governance, Strategy, and Data Architecture. A passionate advocate for the responsible use of data, Zjaen helps organisations unlock value through data-driven solutions.

EA Maturity Assessments take a close look at how well an organisation manages its enterprise architecture processes, skills, tools, and artefacts. They highlight what’s working and what needs fixing, helping to align EA and IT with business goals and prioritise the delivery of future EA initiatives - leading to smarter decisions and more capable architectures.

At this month’s EA Forum, we will look at what a capability maturity assessment is and what it isn’t, classes of assessment, standard methodologies, best practices, and how you could/should take a stab at assessing your EA capability maturity level.

With over 30 years of experience in IT, Enterprise Architecture, and Consulting, Andries van der Walt has worked across multiple sectors worldwide, including South Africa, Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, New Zealand, China, and the UK. He holds a B.Eng. and an MBA, and is accredited with CGEIT, Certified Cobit Assessor, CMMI Lead Appraiser, and is TOGAF certified. Andries is also an APMG Accredited trainer for COBIT and CGEIT.

AI Integration in Higher Education

Join us as UJ’s Francois Wolmarans, Senior Manager for Architecture and Planning, and seasoned open-source advocate and technologist, leads a compelling discussion on the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within higher education institutions. 

He will explore both the challenges and opportunities of AI integration, focusing on strategic considerations necessary for its implementation and use. Topics will include AI research at the university using Language Learning Models (LLMs) for student support while addressing ethics and transparency, leveraging open-source LLM tools, and securing AI systems within university environments. Additionally, Francois will discuss the development of an AI architecture blueprint tailored to align with university goals and the integration of AI workflows into existing architectures.

With his extensive experience at the University of Johannesburg, Francois brings a wealth of knowledge in IT architecture and strategic planning in higher education. His deep involvement in the open-source community and commitment to ethical technology use provide him with unique insights that promise to make this session both informative and thought-provoking.

Mark your calendar