Enterprise Architecture is moving beyond documenting IT systems. In 2026, architecture teams are increasingly expected to guide AI adoption, accelerate governance decisions, and connect technology strategy with real business outcomes.
But how can organizations introduce AI-driven innovation without losing visibility, consistency, and architectural control?
On September 9, 2026, the Hungarian Chapter of the Association of Enterprise Architects (AEA) hosted an international webinar featuring Andy Neill from Info-Tech Research Group, alongside a practical demonstration of SAMU by Atoll Technologies.
The session explored five important Enterprise Architecture trends and showed how AI and structured architecture data can support more informed technology decisions.
5 Enterprise Architecture Trends Shaping 2026 and Beyond
Andy Neill, Vice President of Global Services and Chief Enterprise Architect at Info-Tech Research Group, shared his perspective on the changing role of Enterprise Architecture.
With more than two decades of international experience, including senior architecture and data leadership roles at the BBC, UK Parliament, NHS, and Siemens Consulting, Andy brought a practical perspective to the discussion.
According to the AEA Hungarian Chapter’s post-event summary, five key trends stood out:
1. From Architecture Control to Collaboration
Enterprise Architects are moving beyond enforcing standards and reviewing documentation. Their role increasingly involves coaching teams, facilitating collaboration, and helping organizations make better technology decisions.
2. Automating Architecture Review Boards
AI and standardized processes can help accelerate architecture reviews, reduce repetitive work, and improve consistency. The challenge is to make governance more efficient without sacrificing transparency or accountability.
3. Federated Decision Authority
Instead of centralizing every architecture decision, organizations are exploring distributed decision-making supported by clear responsibilities and Architecture Decision Records (ADRs). This allows teams to move faster while preserving traceability.
4. Guiding AI Engineering Through Architecture
As AI engineering becomes more widespread, Enterprise Architecture needs to provide guidance for prompt design, AI integration, and request-routing patterns. The goal is to ensure that AI initiatives remain aligned with enterprise-wide architecture principles.
5. AI Agents Enriching Enterprise Architecture Models
AI agents can support architecture teams by helping explore existing environments, enrich architecture information, and simulate potential future states. This creates opportunities to make EA repositories more useful for ongoing analysis and transformation planning.
The key takeaway: Enterprise Architecture is becoming less about maintaining static documentation and more about enabling faster, better-informed decisions across the organization.
From Enterprise Architecture Trends to Practice: SAMU in Action
The second part of the webinar moved from industry trends to practical applications.
Olivér Kocs, Sales Manager at Atoll Technologies, and Gábor Vinczellér, Head of Product Development and Senior Consultant, demonstrated how SAMU can support continuous architecture transformation.
Two AI-related capabilities were particularly relevant to the trends discussed:
AI-Powered Visual Recognition
Architecture information often begins as sketches, whiteboard drawings, or diagrams created in tools such as Visio and draw.io.
The demonstration showed how AI-based visual recognition can help transform this information into structured elements within an Enterprise Architecture repository.
This approach can help bridge the gap between informal architecture documentation and reusable, structured architecture data.
Connecting Enterprise Architecture to AI Through MCP
Another highlight was the use of Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect an Enterprise Architecture repository with large language models.
Rather than relying only on general AI knowledge, this approach enables AI assistants to work with enterprise-specific architecture context.
This creates opportunities for more relevant architecture questions, analysis, and decision support based on organizational data.
Beyond AI: A Flexible Architecture Repository
AI capabilities are only as useful as the information they can access.
SAMU combines a structured Enterprise Architecture repository with a configurable meta-model, data-driven visualizations, dependency analysis, and workflow-based governance.
Organizations can use these capabilities to connect applications, technologies, business capabilities, and transformation initiatives within a shared architecture model.
SAMU also offers SaaS and on-premise deployment options, providing additional flexibility for organizations with different operational and security requirements.
Why Watch the Webinar?
This webinar is particularly valuable for Heads of Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Architects, CIOs, and technology transformation leaders facing a practical challenge:
How can architecture teams embrace AI, accelerate technology decisions, and maintain reliable governance across increasingly complex IT landscapes?
Andy Neill explores how the EA profession is evolving, while the SAMU demonstration provides practical examples of how structured architecture information can support that transformation.
Watch the recording to explore the five trends and see SAMU’s approach in practice.
Event Details
Event: AEA Webinar – Enterprise Architecture 2026 Trends
Date: September 9, 2026
Organizer: Association of Enterprise Architects – Hungarian Chapter
Format: Online webinar
Speakers:
Andy Neill – Info-Tech Research Group
Olivér Kocs – Atoll Technologies / SAMU
Gábor Vinczellér – Atoll Technologies / SAMU
Recording: Available online via AEA Webex.
Take the Next Step with SAMU
Understanding emerging Enterprise Architecture trends is one thing. Applying them to your own application portfolio and technology landscape is another.
If you’re exploring how to strengthen Enterprise Architecture within your organization, these resources can help:
Estimate the Business Value of Enterprise Architecture
Explore the potential business value of improved application visibility, portfolio management, and technology decision-making using our Enterprise Architecture Assessment ROI calculator.
Compare Enterprise Architecture Platforms
Evaluating different EA tools? Read our detailed SAMU vs SAP LeanIX comparison to understand how the platforms differ in flexibility, governance, deployment, and architecture management.
Explore SAMU in Practice
If you’re ready to see how SAMU could support your own architecture environment, you can also request access to a free trial.
Want to see how SAMU could support your Enterprise Architecture landscape?
Discover how SAMU helps architecture teams understand dependencies, analyze change and manage continuous transformation.
Oliver holds a degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and was raised in the United States. With over 25 years of extensive experience in sales, business development, and account management, he has specialized in managing enterprise accounts within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
For more than eight years, Oliver has been a key contributor at Atoll, where he has played a pivotal role in expanding SAMU’s customer base. Currently, he is focused on growing SAMU’s international presence, with a strategic emphasis on the North American market.
Outside of his professional life, Oliver is a dedicated family man, proud father to a son and daughter. He is passionate about sports, avidly following all major US sports leagues, and actively competes in golf and basketball. His competitive spirit and team-oriented mindset extend beyond the office, reflecting his dynamic approach both professionally and personally.