The Definition, Concept, and Impact of Solution Architecture

They are defined by individual business processes, workflows, and operations, but these components must work together to make the solution as a whole run smoothly. The average salary for a solution architect in the United States is $100,000 per year and those with extensive experience can earn up to $250,000 annually. It is important to note that all of the architectural roles described are highly intertwined, and in a number of companies they can be combined under two or even one position. At the moment, there is no clear generally accepted division of responsibilities for the roles of architects, so in different companies, they may differ, and even have a different names.

This person needs to ensure that the new solution fits into the existing enterprise architecture from technical, business, user, and other perspectives. As the process is always heavy on the budget and highly risky, every company should have an architect to implement new solutions and scale them successfully. This specialist can be introduced to a company’s enterprise structure through software architecture consulting services. In this article, we’ll be discussing the role and responsibilities of a solution architect and the specific skills that such a position entails. With technology architecture, a solution architect details the structural design of the IT infrastructure that is needed to support the proposed solution.

Solution Architecture

A solution architect isn’t directly involved in project management but needs to ensure deadlines are met, and the appropriate resources are involved. Solution architecture is a process of tailoring software engineering to meet specific business needs. First of all, let’s define the notions of solution architecture and solution architect. And when new solutions aren’t perfectly tailored to an enterprise, they yield unsatisfying results and create unwanted problems.

Enterprise architecture, which we covered in a dedicated article, focuses on building complex enterprise ecosystems and solves high-level strategic issues. Enterprise architecture defines the strategic directions of the business architecture, which then leads to an understanding of what technology facilities are needed to support that architecture. So, in other words, the enterprise architect defines what has to be done, while the solution architect then decides how to do it. As a rule, this person has industry-specific expertise, so he or she understands what stakeholders want and why they want it.

Enterprise Architect vs. Technical Architect vs. Solution Architect

And if you’re working on a product team, you might also be expected to work with clients to understand expectations and requirements. A solutions architect in a client-facing role will also need to understand how to manage customer satisfaction and set proper expectations for the end-product. A solutions architect also bridges communication between IT and business operations to ensure everyone is aligned in developing and implementing technical solutions for business problems.

Therefore, selecting the best solutions architect tool can be essential to the success of the solution. Another responsibility of a solutions architect is to invest time into their craft; researching and understanding new technologies and solutions. To meet these and other business requirements, the Customer needed their QMS modernized with properly managed back-end infrastructure, consistently monitored to ensure their services are highly available. Solution architects position appeared in сompanies that create software on an industrial scale. They needed someone who could communicate with their clients while the contract is being prepared (solution architecture as a service). If you build landing pages, integrate small modules, or make minor improvements, you don’t need a solution architect.

Google cloud architect certification

You have more chances to impress investors if you know what product you’re making and what problem it’s going to solve. A solution architect will match product requirements with ways to implement them and explain everything in clear business terms. Companies look for people who perform solutions architect duties only when their projects become more complex and challenging. A solution architect’s job here is to explain how this app can be built, what tools — programming languages, frameworks, APIs — should be used, and how much time this process will take. For that, architects do some solution architecture — draw diagrams to understand which components are required for this app.

• A technical architect primarily oversees software architecture, technical development, and implementation technology.
• If architected properly, the system will be easily scalable, manageable, affordable, and will bring business value, fast.
• Once software engineering projects grow more complicated and entail a bigger number of processes and risks, it’s better to consider solution architecture consulting services.
• Or consider a specialization such as IBM’s for DevOps, Cloud, and Agile Foundations to learn some of the most popular concepts and methodologies for managing the development process.
• Solution architects position appeared in сompanies that create software on an industrial scale.
• We highly recommend you turn to a trusted outsourcing vendor with years of experience hiring software development professionals.

He has deep experience building web applications, with expert proficiency in .NET, C#, HTML5, JavaScript, jQuery, and MS SQL. A solution usually consists of multiple systems and describes a conceptual model that represents the structure and behavior of each system, as well as how they interact with each other. Each system is broken down further with fundamental structures such as system elements, their properties, behavior, and how they interact with other elements. Analyze the impact of the solution on the state of the business’ goals and direct outcomes of solution implementation. After that, it would be a good thing to extract insights out of it and understand how it contributes to the improvement of the product or service.

Business Transformation

Additionally, we offer comprehensive IT consulting and outstaffing services like dedicated teams. It’s a well-recognized set of qualifications that consists of 5 different levels to fit different experiences and seniority levels. This exam will be suitable not only for IT solution architects but also for people who want to obtain managerial positions in the IT field. A solutions architect is responsible for creating a comprehensive architecture for a software solution and providing strategic direction throughout the development process.

The synergy between these roles is key in building a long-lasting, effective enterprise architecture. The responsibilities of a solutions architect involve understanding potentially complex problems and finding all the possible solutions – accurately defining the issue and the requirement. So, there is no training course for this exam since every specialist will be tested based on their individual experience.

Find Out Which IT Architecture Role is For You with Side-by-Side Comparison

Next, an IT solutions architect helps to assemble a development team — define how many developers they need, as well as where each of them should start. Solution architects may work on multiple projects at the same time, which requires effective time management and prioritization skills. They may also be responsible for managing project budgets, timelines, and resources, ensuring that the solutions they design are delivered on time and within budget. solution architect performance goals As a solutions architect, you’ll want to get certified in any relevant skills or technologies for your industry or field. The skills and knowledge that you’ll need can vary depending on the role, but you can always find certifications and courses for individual skills required for the job such as Java, AWS, Azure, or Apache Kafka. Solutions architects must be prepared to work with leaders, managers, and employees across every business unit.

Since the IT world is changing at a dramatic pace, there has been a lack of consensus when it comes to defining the role of a solution architect. Because just like within the field of enterprise architecture, there’s a level of abstraction that might be hard to grasp from a non-technical perspective. It’s dangerous to assume that hiring an enterprise architect who delegates tasks to development teams can cut out the middleman. The solution architect is absolutely necessary to ensure that solutions are implemented correctly. As the name already suggests, enterprise architecture paints a big picture of the enterprise that includes all business entities and their relationship to technology and applications. EA is particularly concerned with the lifecycle of applications and defining IT strategies.

What Is a Solutions Architect?

They are mediators between enterprise architecture (global business perspective) and software architecture (dealing with tech issues). These people work in big organizations that maintain complex hardware infrastructure. In general, solution architect roles and responsibilities include designing a solution architecture and implementing it in practice.