Enterprise Architecture is a varied field, with a wide variety of potential uses. When speaking of benefits much will depend on what an organization chooses to do with their EA practice. The prime use of enterprise architecture is to drive digital transformation. Creating short and long term roadmaps, assessing the impacts of changes, gathering stakeholder views, and executing change are all possible through the application of EA. In general, EA will make firms more agile, able to react quickly to external events, and deal with shocks. Digital Transformation is a key factor to business success, and indispensable, to achieving competitive advantage.
Enterprise Architecture provides a holistic view of the current status of the organization's structure, enabling a simple understanding of where to change and its impacts. Architects can show the options that exist to change or make improvements in response to the constantly changing needs of the business environment. There can often be a disconnect between the business and IT, which hinders change, but EA helps to align Business and IT for successful digitalization.
At the same time, EA allows organizations to identify constraints and limitations imposed by the structure of the enterprise, which can then be alleviated to smooth transformation efforts.