Solution Architect: Roles and Responsibilities, Skills & Qualifications What about solutions architect responsibilities?

Stakeholders have to be regularly informed about product development processes, costs, and budgeting. These tasks are usually done by a solution architect who translates technical project details into a language that management and non-technical stakeholders can understand. It also requires clear communication skills and the ability to translate technical details of the project into simple language that will be easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand. Successful solutions architects are usually curious, rational, analytical, and methodical—all of which are important traits for this job. Solution architecture can be introduced to the corporate structure by technology consulting organizations if the process of integrating new software systems isn’t systematic. On top of that, there is no need to have a solution architect for every single project.

• In this program, you’ll learn in-demand skills that will have you job-ready in less than six months.
• To get a better idea of what a solution architect does in practice, it’s helpful to look at common solution architecture use cases.
• There’s no way to answer these questions without linking technology and business perspectives, which is squarely in a solution architect’s wheelhouse.
• However, solution architects don’t just hand out instructions and then leave the scene.

Download this poster to learn more about core competencies of IT architecture and how to become a Solution Architect. Glassdoor has millions of jobs plus salary information, company reviews, and interview questions from people on the inside making it easy to find a job that’s right for you. Partnering with relevant suppliers — Solution AEs know what capabilities suppliers can offer and how they can contribute to the overall solution. 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?

It helps to understand the project’s roadmap and explain some key architecture decisions. Supports projects or change initiatives through the preparation of technical plans and application of design principles. Instead of reaching decisions in silos, AEs can host collaborative Specification and Design Workshops . These events bring together all relevant stakeholders around a specific topic to quickly and effectively create a shared understanding and arrive at decisions. Digital transformation requires businesses to reconsider either how they deliver value to their customers or what they will eventually deliver.

What Does a Solutions Architect Do?

As an integral part of an enterprise ecosystem, a solutions architecture has an immense impact on your company operations in general. An optimal, well-structured architecture of your enterprise solutions will account for excellent operational efficiency, increase time-to-value, and will give your company an indisputable competitive advantage. With this regard, the importance of a solution architect in an organization becomes paramount. Enterprise solution architecture is a set of integrated technologies and applications that help organizations resolve their business-specific issues and reach their objectives. Shows how key functionality relevant to the solution architecture maps to releases and milestones.

These virtual models, also called ‘digital twins’, are validated by information collected from the physical and operational environments, as shown by the feedback loops in Figure 3. Solution AEs work across functional domains and organizational boundaries to create this digital engineering environment. They ensure systems in the manufacturing and operational environments provide the necessary data to evolve the virtual models. You make a good point that to find a solution architecture function to see what’s best for the building you’ll need technology assessment and comparison.

Create an architectural vision and roadmap – Solution AEs define the future, to-be solution architecture, and show milestones and deliverables in the Solution Roadmap to evolve from the current architecture. Creating a Continuous Delivery Pipeline – Sustainability requires continuous delivery. Solution AEs create a vision for the solution’s CDP and ensure the solution is architected to support it, including the ability for teams and ARTs to Release on Demand. You may have a large project that requires someone to manage designers, technical or business architect teams to produce a quality technical project outcome.

What Is a Solutions Architect’s Role in a Company?

Understanding these aspects, they will be able to design a specific solution that fits the environment best. Unlike the solution architect, the software architect typically doesn’t deal with financial and organizational issues. This person focuses on all the aspects related to software engineering on a particular project, i.e., development, implementation, maintenance, support, and evolution. Software architects closely collaborate with development teams and control the entire development process. So, continuing the previous example, the software architect determines what exactly has to be done and how the result can be maintained.

The solution architect’s job focuses on solution-level decisions and analysis of their impact on the overall business goals and outcomes. So, we can say that the product of a solution architect’s job is the set of technological solutions and the strategy of their implementation. Thus, solution architecture translates technical business needs into practical IT solutions while establishing rules and instructions for proper implementation and delivery.

Designing a solution requires understanding how different parts of the business work together. The architect must recognize the corporate strategy and realize all business processes that define how a company achieves its strategic goals. As a result, solution architects constantly deal with analytical work and move between various business layers. In a rapidly changing technology environment, organizations face the need to transform their processes and systems to meet emerging business requirements. This digital transformation demands specific expertise and a set of practices to align business focus with technology solutions.

What Does Solution Architecture Mean?

Identifies and evaluates alternative architectures and the trade-offs in cost, performance and scalability. Clients receive 24/7 access to proven management and technology research, expert advice, benchmarks, diagnostics and more. Gain the skills you need to succeed, anytime you need them—whether you’re starting your first job, switching to a new career, solution architecture responsibilities or advancing in your current role. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals. The way that software components — subroutines, classes, functions, etc. — are arranged, and the interactions between them, is called architecture.

Solution architects are critical to modern businesses due to their ability to bridge the gap between technical and business use cases. Companies operating across all sectors need a robust technology foundation; in many cases, technology represents the key differentiator for a company in terms of business performance against its peers. Therefore, solution architects who have experience making broad-ranging and highly impactful software and technology decisions make this a highly sought after group of professionals.

Additionally, a Solution Architect researches advanced technologies and approaches regarding best practices in the field. Define Nonfunctional Requirements – Solution AEs are primarily responsible for understanding and managing NFRs that constrain the system’s design and implementation. They document them in the solution intent and define the enablers to address them. Perform technology tradeoffs – Solution AEs collaborate with teams, System AEs, and others to evaluate the broad technology landscape and perform tradeoff analysis to arrive at optimal design decisions. These elements represent a portion of the larger systems engineering body of knowledge. For more details, see the INCOSE Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge and the many Architecture Frameworks defined by the engineering community .

However, solution architects don’t just hand out instructions and then leave the scene. They work closely with technical architects and manage all the tasks that are needed for the project to succeed. This involves overseeing time schedules, monitoring technological risks, and ensuring that each activity aligns with the business https://globalcloudteam.com/ requirements described in the solution. Therefore, the role of a solution architect can be compared to a technical project manager who keeps track of the project throughout all phases. 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.

Solution Architect Job Description Template

In practice, the Solution AE role is most likely a team rather than one individual, with the team typically operating under the auspices of a ‘Chief Architect’ or ‘Chief Engineer’. Techopedia™ is your go-to tech source for professional IT insight and inspiration. We aim to be a site that isn’t trying to be the first to break news stories, but instead help you better understand technology and — we hope — make better decisions as a result. AWS certifications are valid for 3 years after which the credential holders have to go through recertification to prove their continued expertise and knowledge of the latest AWS technologies and best practices.

Usually, companies already have operating systems, an information context, and integration requirements. The solution architecture helps ensure that a new system will fit the existing enterprise environment. To perform this task, a solution architect has to understand how all parts of the business model work together including processes, operating systems, and application architectures.

A solutions architect is responsible for creating a comprehensive architecture for a software solution and providing strategic direction throughout the development process. Some organizations don’t need to hire in-house experts and can leverage third-party solution architecture consulting services or have the solution architect functions split between other people on their team. At times though, the need for a dedicated SA specialist becomes paramount. This scope of work requires a particular set of skills that can make the process efficient and productive. Leads the development of solution architectures in specific business, infrastructure or functional areas. Contributes to the development of solution architectures in specific business, infrastructure or functional areas.

Solution architect role description and responsibilities

To better understand the role of solution architecture in the context of software development, you first need to think about what a solution is. Even though this might seem quite basic, it illustrates why solution architecture is one of the most important processes when re-designing your IT landscape. In the corporate world, this means evaluating client needs or problems and addressing them with systems that replace or improve the existing system. The solution architecture is described in a document that specifies a certain level of vision for all current and future solutions, applications and processes that the organization has. Enterprise architecture, which we covered in a dedicated article, focuses on building complex enterprise ecosystems and solves high-level strategic issues.

Define solution requirements, key features of the solution, and phases of 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. Solution architecture is one of the foundational elements of any project or organization.

Solution architecture belongs to the list of most important practices executed before any tech solution development begins. In this article, we’ll discuss what solution architecture is, describe the role of a solution architect, and explain how the adoption of this expertise can help solve business problems. Collaborate with software developers and engineers to ensure configuration and delivery of software solutions per the defined architecture specifications.

There’s no way to answer these questions without linking technology and business perspectives, which is squarely in a solution architect’s wheelhouse. While the practice can be managed in-house, there are companies that provide solution architecture consulting as a specific set of services. You’ll also find solution architects within tech firms who need to position their software with customers during the sales cycle and aid implementation through ad-hoc projects. The solution architect role also requires being able to project into the future and consider upcoming uses. A solutions architect must view the long-term use of this product and implement scalability and adaptability into the solution for the future.

Enterprise Architect Vs. Solutions Architect Role

A solution architect accounts for budget, resources, and deadlines, and should be result-oriented and business-focused. At this stage, the Solution Architect’s role is to oversee the progress of the project in accordance with the solution goals and enterprise resources. When introducing a new product or system as part of an IT solution, solution architects make sure that it fits into existing information security practices. How the project complies with each regulation is formally documented at the beginning of a project. To get a better idea of what a solution architect does in practice, it’s helpful to look at common solution architecture use cases. Note that, unlike EA-related projects, SA is implemented right away and therefore yields quicker results.

When a company needs solution architecture consulting

Refers mainly to software architecture, technical engineering, and implementation practices. Thus, technical engineers work in close cooperation with development teams to make sure that they stick to the accepted development practices and communicate the enterprise strategy to developers. A solutions architect, on the other hand, focuses primarily on software architecture. A solution architect’s task is to evaluate all business requirements and come up with solutions in the form of products or services. Once they are given a problem, solution architects are not only in charge of finding answers but also of actively leading the technical vision to success.

What does solution architecture mean?

Section 5gives a high-level representation of the system’s main components, the different user types, and interactions with external entities. The Software Architecture Definition document describes the subsystems and components of the solution by presenting a number of architectural views. Each view shows a different aspect of the system to address different concerns and is described in a separate section. Whether an organization needs all three types of architects depends on the company size and the complexity of its infrastructure.