What is a Solution Architect Role and Responsibilities?

Businesses are now more inclined to adjust to their operations as technology changes constantly change the landscape. A desire to be prepared for new challenges and changing customer needs.

One side to this rapidly-evolving world is that businesses are migrating from manual operations to software solutions under the " Digital Transformation" initiative.

Although this change is necessary, it cannot be very easy. This is why businesses seek experts who have the required proficiency and skillset to balance business needs with different technological solutions.

Here are solutions architects.

The success of any IT project will depend on how well a solution architect provides input.

• Business analysis skills
• Technical knowledge
• Project management skillset

What role does a solutions architect play in a business's success? This article will discuss what a solution architect is and how they can help businesses succeed.

What does it mean to be a solution architect?

The role of a solutions architect is to assess the business requirements and determine how the IT system can meet those needs. They are responsible for identifying, developing, and improving technical solutions aligned with business objectives.

They link IT and business teams to ensure that everyone is on the same page when developing and implementing technical solutions.

Three terms are commonly used when talking about IT architects. Let's take a closer look at them.

An overview of the different IT architecture roles

There are three main roles in the IT industry: Solutions Architect (Enterprise Architect) and Technical Architect.

Since this article is primarily about IT solution architects, let's now look at the two other roles.

Enterprise Architect

These individuals are responsible for overseeing the entire enterprise's properties, business entities, and relationships. They are responsible for creating solutions to critical business problems.

Usually, the Enterprise Architect oversees and delegates tasks to specialists. They are responsible for ensuring the company has a smooth application lifecycle and uses the most appropriate technology for each use case.

Technical Architect

These individuals provide leadership and guidance to the development teams. They are responsible for engineering, creating, and implementing software architecture. The Technical Architect is also responsible for defining the standards and practices that must be followed throughout the project. This is done in close collaboration with technical development teams.

Roles and responsibilities of IT solution architects

We have shown how solutions architects help IT, and business teams build products on time and within budget while solving problems. What tasks does a solution architect perform in day-to-day operation? These are the roles of solution architects.

Find solutions that match your business environment

Businesses generally have operating systems, information context, and integration facilities. The solutions architect makes sure that any new system is compatible with the existing business environment. They understand how each element of the business model interacts and can design a solution that best meets this mixture of processes, architecture, and operating systems.

Stakeholder requirements

Meeting the requirements of individual stakeholders is one of the main tasks of a solution architect. These requirements are typically from technical and non-technical stakeholders, which must be considered in the project.

Part of the job is to keep stakeholders informed about product development, budget, and process. This requires translating technical details into layman's language.

Be aware of project constraints

Each software has its limitations. They could be:

• scope
• Technology
• Quality
• Time
• Cost
• unanticipated risks
• Resources

These elements may be "constraints," but they also have limitations. The solution architect must understand these elements, prioritize them, and take technical and managerial decisions to resolve these issues within the business goals.

Select technology stack

Selecting the right technologies for product development is a key component of architecture building. There are many ways to choose the best tools, platforms, APIs, and programming languages.

Solution architects are responsible for determining which combination is best for a project. This can be done by comparing and analyzing technology.

Meet non-functional requirements

Each software project must meet several non-functional requirements that define the system's characteristics.

The exact list of non-technical components depends on the software's complexity, but a general guideline would include performance, maintenance ability, security, and usability. As a solutions architect, the responsibility is to ensure that the product engineers meet all non-functional requirements.

As you can see, the roles and responsibilities required to answer what solution architects do are quite broad. They would need the best skills to meet their requirements. Let's take a look at what these skills are.

Solution architect's skillsets

These individuals are the solution architect. They have many responsibilities. This requires multifaceted skills.

Expertise in technical matters

Because the role of solutions architect is typically technical, they should have extensive experience in the IT sector, particularly in domains such as -

• OS and Computer systems
• Software architecture design
• Infrastructure design
• Web platforms are created
• Product management
• Database management
• Hardware management
• DevOps practices
• Analytical skills
• Data and system security

To understand how different processes work together, solutions architects must look at the whole business picture. They should also connect the business vision to the technical aspect of the project while still keeping in mind the corporate strategy.

Management of projects

Although project development is not part of the role of a solution architect, they are accountable for meeting deadlines and managing resources. They must choose the best solution for the business and discard it as soon as possible.

They must also have a long-term vision of the software regarding scalability, change management, and other aspects.

Risk management

Solution architects must be able to assess the technical and business implications and the potential risk and impacts of their solutions.

They should also have the best risk mitigation strategies in place. Given the agility and skill of modern enterprises, risk management is one of the most important responsibilities for solution architects. This skill can be learned and used to meet the needs of modern startups.

Superior communication

The skills we mentioned are essential, but solutions architects also need to be able to communicate clearly. They will interact daily with managers, developers, project teams, software architects, and other stakeholders. They must share the vision and update about the project with all stakeholders’ requirements to facilitate this level of collaboration.

What is the best time for a company to hire a solution architect?

When software for a business becomes too complicated or starts introducing risks and processes, it is time to hire a solution architect. Let's take a look at some of the most common cases in which it is recommended that a solution architect be hired:

It is not clear which solution would work best in your enterprise. Business solution architects can help you find the right solution if you need to link the project with the existing enterprise.

You are responsible for a digital transformation project. Businesses must consider what value they can deliver to customers today and what they need to deliver in the future for digital transformation.

These decisions can't be made if technology stack and business are kept in silos. You will also need to seek the assistance of a technical solution architect.

Multiple risks are present. Projects that involve multiple uncertainties and risks will require someone to help. This person can be a business solution Architect skill sets with advanced technical skills.

Multi-disciplinary teams can be involved in a project. You may be working on a complex project and need to manage the design, technical, and architecture teams. Technical solutions architects are here to help. These technical solutions architects will also play an important role in communicating with stakeholders and converting technical information to layman's terms.

Conclusion

The demand for solution architects will only increase in the future. This dynamic role is still in development, and new responsibilities are being added every day.

Solutions architects are valuable assets for any company, but their impact is only as long as they continue to learn and deliver their best. So, talk to our experts today and get IT consulting services can help companies bring in a highly skilled solutions architect. Get in touch with our experts to learn how you can benefit from the solutions architect's expertise.