You already know it. Technology is completely pervasive in our lives, and in how businesses operate. It’s pervasive in how business execs think — they know that every change they make has a technology aspect to it. As my colleague Randy Heffner says, “It’s no longer enough to say that technology supports business. Today, your business is embodied in its technology.”

You already know it. The pace of change in our highly interconnected and interdependent world is increasing — and along with this are the opportunities and risks which change brings. From emerging markets to new social platforms such as Pinterest, business leaders are finding they can’t assume stable business models and environments anymore. Gone are the days of three-year strategic plans — the mantra now is: “How quickly can we sense and respond to new opportunities and threats? How quickly can we shift our business for these changes?”

I’d like to describe why we are excited about Peter Hinssen, our featured keynote speaker at Forrester’s Enterprise Architecture Forum 2012. Peter has been a highly successful technology entrepreneur and, for a time, the McKinsey Institute’s “entrepreneur in residence.” After being successful making money with technology, he’s turned his interests to the impact of technology on society and business — and what that means for the business function called IT. As he sees it, the waves of technology pervasiveness and the more dynamic business environment are amplifying each other’s impact. This is a challenging environment for IT. It doesn’t mean that the business function of IT isn’t valuable — but it means that IT’s business model, and the premises this model is built on, must change. This change is what Peter will be talking about in his keynote speech, “The New Normal.”

Control vs. Influence. Innovation vs. Risk. Agility vs. Reliability. We can’t choose between them, but they are tough to balance. At the Enterprise Architecture Forum 2012, Peter, other keynote speakers, and drill-down sessions and case studies will show how enterprise architecture, when infused in your business, is the critical element in responding to “The New Normal”.