What does a solution architect do?

What does a solution architect do?

A company seeking to adopt such a framework should work toward matching their architecture, skills, resources with desired business results. Integrating such a structure is dependant upon selecting a skilled solution architect. Get to know everything about what solution architecture is, the differences between solution architecture and enterprise architecture, and the benefits. Technical architects generally play the role of solution architects with less focus on the business aspect and more on the techology aspect. The solution architect must understand all of these constraints and consider the technical and business factors that ultimately need to align with the project’s goals.

  • They provide technical leadership and make decisions regarding the most crucial elements of a system being created.
  • These misconceptions come from a lot of architects doing a pretty bad job, and organizations doing a terrible job at understanding what an architect is for.
  • In their role, they need to establish credibility with both business leaders and IT experts.
  • Explore the possibility to hire a dedicated R&D team that helps your company to scale product development.
  • As an autonomous, full-service development firm, The App Solutions specializes in crafting distinctive products that align with the specific
    objectives and principles of startup and tech companies.
  • Solution architecture concentrates more on IT technologies to solve a specific business riddle, and as such, creates a conduit between enterprise structure and technical structure.

Each system is different, driven by the process definition and related workflows designed for fulfilling specific operations. In terms of organization structure, would you think Solution Architecture team should be under Enterprise Architecture or as a standalone unit in par with Enterprise Architecture? They tend to be investigative individuals, which means they’re intellectual, introspective, and inquisitive.

Self-Service Portals: Definition, Benefits, and Importance for Companies

It’s important to understand that enterprise architects and solution architects are not opposed to each other but form a synergy with technical architects. All three are integral elements when it comes to maximizing the value that a company can generate through the use of technology. A solution architecture (SA) is an architectural description of a specific solution. SAs combine guidance from different enterprise architecture viewpoints (business, information and technical), as well as from the enterprise solution architecture (ESA). If a solution is created to optimize internal processes, it is essential to develop a solution that will be easily integrated into the corporate structure. In such a situation, the solution architect must understand the company’s business processes in the solutions that are already used in the company.

Solution architecture itself encompasses business, system, information, security, application and technology architecture. Some examples of solutions architecture include developing cloud infrastructure for efficiency, implementing microservices for ecommerce, or adopting security measures for data, systems, and networks. While the scope of the job can vary depending on a business’ specific needs, there are certain responsibilities, skills, and qualifications that solutions architects will need to meet to get the job. Usually, companies already have operating systems, an information context, and integration requirements.

Importance of Solutions Architects

They cooperate with all the teams involved in the development process and need to know how every product and service works in solution architecture. These professionals need all their knowledge to oversee the successful delivery of a quality end product to its end users. Solution architects may also spend time researching and evaluating new technologies, tools, and methodologies. They may read industry publications, attend conferences and webinars, and participate in online communities to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices. Additionally, solution architects may be responsible for training and mentoring junior staff members, sharing their knowledge and expertise with others on their team. A good solution architect should excel in communication with stakeholders while having a good grasp on how to negotiate with different parties.

solution architect definition

An enterprise architect has a much larger scope of work compared to other architect specializations. This specialist develops and proposes strategic technological initiatives to the business’s top executives and explains their benefits. Based on strategic plans, an enterprise architect designs complex enterprise ecosystems. Overall, the work of these specialists is much more business-oriented than the tasks of their solution and technical counterparts.

Solution Architecture

Solution architecture describes how different components of business, information, and technology architectures are used in a particular solution. As solution architecture is more focused on details and solution technologies to address a specific solution architect performance goals business problem, it provides a channel between enterprise architecture and technical architecture. An effective approach for companies is combining enterprise architecture activities with solution and technical architecture activities.

solution architect definition

Each of these individual systems provides a certain value while executing specific operations and completing processes in the act of driving. When we’re cold, we can turn on the heat or air conditioning if we’re hot. We can turn on the headlights at night, and when it’s raining, we can use the windshield wipers.

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They play a critical role in ensuring that technology solutions meet the needs of the organization and contribute to its success. Solution architecture is a practice to provide ground for software development projects by tailoring IT solutions to specific business needs and defining their functional requirements and stages of implementation. The previous sections have outlined the https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ importance of solution architecture during digital transformations and how solution architects can drive change by managing the implementation of IT projects. But what are more specific solution architecture benefits that motivate business leaders to hire SA specialists? It’s now clear that a solution architect’s main job is to find the best possible answers to technical problems.

solution architect definition

A solution architect is in charge of leading the practice and introducing the overall technical vision for a particular solution. As the job title implies, this specialist primarily focuses on solution-level decisions and evaluation of their impact on a client’s overarching business objectives and outcomes. First of all, let’s define the notions of solution architecture and solution architect. In a quickly changing IT world, companies need to change their modus operandi to meet their current business needs.

Key Processes in Solution Architecture

Now, we shall speak about some of the skills such an expert should possess. Shoestring budgets do not let a company hire qualified specialists and use high-level tools to fulfill the tasks. Enormous management efforts are required in order to still develop a good product under such conditions.

After developing a strategic technical vision of the product, the solution architect is involved in estimating the budget and presenting it to the stakeholders. Once everything is agreed upon, he or she monitors the process of development and keeps stakeholders informed about the progress. Software or technical architect is mainly in charge of engineering problems and software architecture. We have a detailed article describing the role of a software architect and the importance of this position to the company’s success. The enterprise architect has the broadest view of the company’s current state of architecture and goals. It is this expert who is responsible for creating a strategic plan for implementing technical changes.

What does a solution architect do?

Also, the architect may sometimes propose technical standards, including coding standards, tools, or platforms. Software architects may also be engaged in the design of the architecture of the hardware environment. If SA is involved in the development, you can be completely confident that the new software product will solve key business problems. This means that at the end of development, the company receives not just a working application, but a product that will lead to scaling. This is one crucial point, as there are many different practices related to platforms, programming languages, and tools. The architect needs to determine which of the technologies will be most suitable for a particular project.

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