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Senior Vice President of Enterprise Architecture at Tricon Residential, Larry Kiradziev leads strategic technology transformations that drive company growth and digital evolution. He began his career as an independent contractor before moving into consulting with a Torontobased firm, where he learned the importance of demonstrating value beyond results. That lesson became a guiding principle throughout his career. Whether serving as a consultant or part of an internal IT team, Larry has focused on translating technology efforts into tangible business outcomes, ensuring that clients, customers and partners clearly recognize the value delivered through his leadership and expertise.

Ensuring Enterprise Architecture Aligns with Business Vision and Goals

Fundamentally it starts with communication. It is imperative to understand that IT can influence a business decision but is also driven by a business strategy and therefore to gain that common alignment, communication is key. Over the years, one common theme I have learned from peers and mentors is that you have to run IT as if it were a business and therefore you have to embrace approaches that external vendors use such as Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) to ensure that the efforts are driving value.

Balancing Formal Frameworks with Real-World Outcomes in Enterprise Architecture

The common question when dealing with the business is always “What do you do in IT”. Many people then immediately focus on describing their technical skills or soft skills with an IT lens. The reality is in my opinion that everyone, regardless of industry they work in, should always provide an answer similar to the following: “To develop, acquire, deploy and manage technology solutions to improve productivity and generate positive business outcomes” . That should be the mission statement. So with that emphasis at the forefront, IT professionals must be able to demonstrate the accomplishment of that mission vs dogmatically insisting on following a specific framework because it is an academically accepted practice. The framework is the means to an end, not the end itself and I feel that many IT professionals lose sight of the real objective which is to achieve business outcomes, not institutionalize frameworks because of an academic argument.

How Enterprise Architects Turn Strategy into Structure

The “textbook” answer that comes to mind for most Enterprise Architects is to foster continuous communication with business leaders, anchor architecture in measurable business goals and KPIs and engage stakeholders early using data-driven insights and visual models. Key strategies often include applying standardized EA frameworks such as TOGAF, prioritizing flexibility and scalability and implementing governance structures that enable collaboration while ensuring strategic alignment.

However, like most textbook answers, this is easier said than done. Real success depends on strong relationship management. Unless activities clearly demonstrate value through measurable outcomes, any emerging practice—whether enterprise project management, cyber-security, risk management or enterprise architecture— will quickly lose relevance because value was not demonstrated.

Achieving this requires spending meaningful time with the business, understanding what drives their needs and shaping perspectives accordingly. The stereotype of “ivory tower architecture” exists because too many practitioners spend endless energy defending abstract principles instead of driving tangible outcomes.

This does not mean discarding academic knowledge altogether. Rather, it calls for applying it through a pragmatic lens, focusing on results and tailoring approaches to achieve business impact.

How to Keep Enterprise Architecture Agile in a Fast-Changing Tech World

It comes down to embracing the reality that change is constant and remaining flexible in how we respond to it. The rapid acceleration of AI in recent years has forced the industry to adapt quickly, but this is not the first disruption we’ve faced. Over my 30-plusyear career, I’ve seen many transformative shifts in technology.

At its core, maintaining relevance requires flexibility in governance, treating architecture as a living, evolving deliverable rather than a static, rigid artifact. It means adopting a philosophy of perpetually emergent design that adapts continuously to meet changing business and environmental needs.

The rise of cloud computing illustrates this evolution well. We moved from lengthy planning cycles for on-premises data centers to cloud services that can be deployed on demand. This shift required a pivot toward more responsive approaches. Planning is still essential, but the paradigm has changed. Today, it is about establishing guardrails that prevent serious consequences while allowing for a more fluid, dynamic and rapidly changing technology environment.

Guidance for IT Leaders Seeking to Drive Change and Establish Standards

When it comes to setting standards, my experience across industries has shown that standards are often promoted only until they become inconvenient. At the first sign of resistance, they are quickly discarded.

The focus, instead, should be on driving meaningful change. To do this, we must return to the principle I outlined earlier: the role of IT is to “develop, acquire, deploy and manage technology solutions that improve productivity and generate positive business outcomes.”

We are brought into organizations to deliver change through this lens. When we prioritize academic debates over the practical application of standards, we risk becoming barriers rather than enablers of business progress. Our responsibility is to improve the present and build a better tomorrow by applying best practices—not by placing them on a pedestal.

This requires fostering a culture of collaboration and responsiveness, one that emphasizes outcomes over the pursuit of a textbook-perfect strategy that may already be obsolete by the time it is complete. That is why I am a firm believer in the phrase, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Though often attributed to Peter Drucker without definitive proof, it remains a truth I have witnessed repeatedly throughout my career. In my view, the most successful leaders are those who understand and embrace this reality.

Through this article, Bristol shares how a people-first, operations-informed approach to data is transforming decision-making in military and multifamily housing. From building a collaborative BI ecosystem to driving efficiency through predictive models and tiered reporting, he emphasizes that data must serve frontline teams and support mission-critical outcomes. His advice to emerging analytics leaders is clear: understand the work, build trust through early wins, and create systems that deliver lasting value.

From Frontline to BI Leadership: Grounding Data in Real-World Impact

My journey started as a painter in military housing, moving unit to unit with boots on the ground. That early experience shaped a foundational belief: every data point we analyze should connect to real lives and outcomes. As I advanced through operations and into Business Intelligence, I often saw a disconnect between what data showed and what frontline teams experienced.

That gap influenced both my leadership and my work with data. I lead with empathy, ask operationally grounded questions, and focus on ensuring data serves the people doing the work—not the other way around.

One pivotal challenge was guiding our teams from gut-feel decision-making to data-informed thinking. That shift took more than dashboards. It required trust, straightforward storytelling, and a shared understanding that our insights must support mission-driven goals, not just metrics.

Building a Data-Driven Culture: Start with Context, Not Just Dashboards

We manage “small cities”—tens of thousands of homes, roads, warehouses, and fleets. In that level of complexity, one-size-fitsall dashboards simply don’t work. What does work is building a collaborative BI ecosystem, not just a reporting function. We use a few key strategies:

• Self-Service BI Portals tailored by department and role, with clear KPIs and shared definitions

• Regular strategy reviews with cross-functional leaders to align on evolving data priorities

• Data storytelling, where insights are always anchored in operational context and mission impact

• Accessible training and office hours, meeting people where they are—whether that’s a regional manager or a maintenance supervisor.

The goal is to demystify data and make it actionable in daily workflow. It’s not about building reports for reporting but about embedding insight into decisions that move the mission forward.

Tackling Housing Industry Pressures: Driving Efficiency Without Compromising Service

One of the most persistent challenges in military housing is balancing cost efficiency with service quality, especially when rent rates are fixed. We can’t grow revenue by raising rent, so every dollar of value has to come from operational effectiveness. Take vacancy turnaround time—every day saved protects revenue, boosts NOI, and more importantly, helps a service member settle in sooner.

Labor optimization is another key issue, particularly the inhouse versus subcontracted work mix. We’ve introduced predictive scheduling models to forecast workload during peak move seasons. That helps us allocate resources smartly and avoid burnout.

Lastly, data fragmentation continues to slow decision-making. Our solution is building centralized data hubs with strong governance to ensure one source of truth across leasing, maintenance, finance, and operations. This alignment helps leaders act faster and with more confidence.

Enterprise Data Strategy in Housing: Modular Design with Tiered Insights and Governance

We take a modular yet standardized approach to enterprise data strategy. It starts with centralizing pipelines from our core systems— property management, work orders, and financial tools. From there, we apply structured governance using a shared data dictionary and role-based permission layers, whether you're a maintenance coordinator or an executive.

Our reporting strategy is built across three levels:

1. Operational dashboards for day-to-day execution, such as unit readiness or maintenance backlog.

2. Tactical scorecards for mid-level leaders tracking vacancy trends or closure rates.

3. Strategic reports for executive decisions tied to NOI, cost avoidance, and portfolio performance.

Federal oversight and compliance are non-negotiable in military housing. Our strategy ensures auditability and data security while enabling real-time, agile decision-making.

Advice for Emerging Analytics Leaders: Lead with Purpose Before Platforms

First, understand the business before the data. Know how the work gets done, where the real pain points are, and which KPIs truly matter in the field.

Second, lead with influence, not infrastructure. Your early wins— whether through automation, more intelligent reporting, or time savings—build the trust needed to scale innovation over time.

Third, act as a translator. Your most significant value is bridging the gap between tech teams, field operations, and executive leadership. Make data make sense.

And finally, build systems that outlast you. A strong analytics leader isn’t just creating dashboards—they’re building cultures, habits, and frameworks that deliver value long after the original project wraps. Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about charts or metrics. It’s about helping families settle into homes faster, supporting those who serve, and building systems that genuinely make a difference.