EA tools allow organizations to examine both the need for, and the impact of, change. They capture the interrelationships and interdependencies within and between an ecosystem of partners, operating models, capabilities, people, processes, information, and applications and technologies. They provide a central repository to capture data and metadata about the artifacts that an enterprise cares about and their related life cycles. Models represent the relationships between these artifacts and are themselves treated as assets that help describe and shape the future of the enterprise. EA tools help with investment decisions for both IT and the broader enterprise. When models are combined with operational performance data, they can help improve business outcomes and shape the construction and ongoing development of digital platforms.