A solutions architect works with an organization to understand their problems and provide various solutions to change or improve architecture to alleviate the issue. They play a central role in an organization’s efforts to introduce and successfully implement new technology solutions. They will work directly with EAs, TAs, business architects, etc. to achieve future state architecture. IT architects and their respective teams work through various aspects of a project life cycle; devising, planning, and designing the implementation of improved processes, business capabilities, and applications.

  • Their scope goes beyond individual projects or technologies, venturing into a holistic understanding of the organization’s technology infrastructure, processes, and strategic goals.
  • They create a technical vision first to show how the software would fulfill the needs of the business.
  • Usually, a product has a number of stakeholders that are both technical and non-technical specialists.
  • Any project must meet the functional requirements and some non-functional requirements related to the characteristics of the system.

After that, the experts must pass through recertification to confirm their continued expertise and knowledge of the modern AWS technologies and innovative practices. Anyone applying for the role of a Solutions Architect position must have a certain set of skills, education, certifications and relevant work experience. Yes, a solutions architect is an important and senior position that is both well-compensated and highly sought-after. The Solution Architect salary fluctuates widely, influenced by factors such as geographic location, industry, years of experience, and the complexity of the projects they undertake. A Cloud Solution Architect specializes in devising and implementing solutions on cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. They are responsible for managing the strategy and execution of cloud services and solutions.

Who is a solution architect?

They must effectively articulate technical complexities to non-technical personnel and facilitate discussions to drive consensus and decision-making. Each role is distinct yet interdependent, creating a harmonious trinity that guides an organization’s technology strategy from vision to execution. Primarily, a Solution Architect serves a distinct organizational role centered on designing and managing comprehensive technology solutions that effectively tackle business challenges. They form the crucial bridge between business issues and their technological resolutions, ensuring optimal utilization of the organization’s technological resources. The average annual base pay for a solutions architect in the US is $197,854, although it ranges from about $99,000 to $172,000, according to Glassdoor [1]. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment opportunities for computer network architects are expected to grow 4 percent from 2021 to 2031 [2].

solution architect roles and responsibilities

The architect then works out the tech vision of the product, explains what solution they need (website, desktop app, mobile apps, or all together). 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. 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.

Tools

A solution architect should know how to analyze and identify potential short-term and long-term risks that may lead to technical issues and hinder future app business operations. They are well-versed with such constraints and bring the best ways to deal with them. And the more rapidly you deal with them; the more it will deliver the products cheaper and faster. A solution architect is a person who comes up with the best tech solutions to clients’ business issues. There is a wide variety of certification platforms available that offer training, access to plenty of learning materials, tests to practice the knowledge, etc. Nevertheless, the exam can be taken without any previous preparation in case a professional has a deep understanding of the architecture principles along with solid experience in the IT industry.

solution architect roles and responsibilities

It ensures the speed and accuracy of information transfer, as well as controls key development processes. Simply put, solution architecture is a high-level description of a software product in the context of the problems it solves. In other words, what does solution architect do solution architecture shows how a system and its specific features help a company reach its determined business goals. The role of a solution architect is to ensure the product meets business requirements and requirements from other stakeholders.

Responsibilities Of Solution Architect

The candidate’s in-depth mastery of cloud computing and solution architect’s certification requires special mention. The predominant providers grant experts the possibility to officially confirm their top-notch expertise, e.g. by obtaining AWS solution architect certification, Azure solution architect certification, etc. Such proficiency recognition necessitates a practical mastery of cloud engineering tools, principles, and systems.

solution architect roles and responsibilities

These specialists start very early in the project, laying out what is to come. Their tasks usually begin with choosing the right technology for the business problem(s) and managing architectural concerns to ensure more productive and effective outcomes. So, here the responsibility of the solutions architect is to ensure that the software meets all the needs and requirements well. He or she is mainly responsible for building a proper infrastructure to support a company’s business strategy. This is one crucial point, as there are many different practices related to platforms, programming languages, and tools.

AWS Solution Architect Certification

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. A technical solution architect’s roles and responsibilities, their qualifications, and the situations when their assistance is required, aren’t limited by thе description presented in this piece. These professionals are undoubtedly helpful when amending and handling a multilevel enterprise structure and making strategic technological decisions. Contact Andersen for a solution architecture consulting in case you need more insights and a price calculation.

Analyze the impact of the solution on the state of the business’ goals and direct outcomes of solution implementation. Solution architecture is one of the foundational elements of any project or organization. In the IT world, there are three primary architecture roles – Solutions Architect, Enterprise Architect, and Technical Architect. As a result, our Client has https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ received a responsive and user-friendly web-based QMS and easily integrated it into customer’s services. In addition, the processes became digitized and transparent, with improved usability for all parties. Other valuable soft skills like problem-solving, creative thinking, risk management, presentation, and decision-making are crucial for Solutions Architects.

Who is a solution architect?

For instance, the SA may test to see if USB or serial port access is available from Java if there’s a need to read a device without downloading software. This process can either be done alone or depending upon the size and velocity of the project can be delegated to a development lead. The essence of the Solution Architect (SA) role is the conversion of the requirements into an architecture and design that will become the blueprint for the solution being created. This conversion is based largely upon the previous design patterns that the SA has been involved with in the past through reading and staying abreast of the latest techniques, or through personal experience.

Additionally, we offer comprehensive IT consulting and outstaffing services like dedicated teams. To successfully design, create, and lead the development of a software solution, an architect needs to have a certain skill set. Let’s take a closer look at the most important skills of a solutions architect below. To determine which IT solutions would best serve the company’s objectives, you will need to have a solid understanding of the business as a solutions architect. In addition, your ability to act as a leader will be crucial for directing the overall establishing process of business objectives. This is all about the roles and responsibilities of solutions architect that every business owner should know before hiring an IT solutions architect for their project.

When a company needs solution architecture consulting

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. 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.