Systems, Architecture and Systems Architecture

Architect is a term that is widely used in the IT industry. Many organizations have their own requirements for roles in architecture. Some architect roles are defined as follows, as explained by Eyskens & Price (2021). Solution architects support groups in problem-solving. Their skills are T-shaped, meaning that while they are specialists in one area (the base of the T), they can work with other experts in different fields (the top of the T). In addition to creating solution diagrams, solution architects take care of non-functional needs like scalability, performance, and security. Platforms for advanced analytics, storage, and insights are primarily designed by data architects. They are in charge of data modeling, quality control, and business intelligence, which is the process of drawing conclusions from data to improve operations. The DIKW pyramid (data, information, knowledge, and wisdom) should be created by a data architect. Organizations look to their vast data sets for wisdom, insight, and knowledge. Value rises as one moves up the pyramid. Technical architects possess in-depth vertical knowledge of a platform or technology stack in addition to practical experience. Reference architectures help when examining high-level components in more detail. To provide more details about the internal workings and particular technologies of a solution architect, the technical architect may enlarge on the reference architecture. Vertically, security architects are knowledgeable about it. They take care of internal or regulatory compliance. Security is prioritized more in the cloud than it is in on-premises systems and apps, particularly in the public cloud. Identity is the focus of cloud native security, whereas network perimeter is the focus of traditional security. IT systems that host applications or are shared across workloads are created by infrastructure architects. They contribute to the development of hybrid cloud-on-premises systems. Application architects create features that businesses have requested. They implement coding standards and industry best practices to produce readable and maintainable applications. Their primary concerns are using cloud and cloud-native design patterns, which are very different from traditional systems, and integrating with different services. The horizontal scaling story of the cloud requires multi-instance applications and services, which application architects must be aware of.

References

Eyskens, S., & Price, E. (2021, February 17). The Azure Cloud Native Architecture Mapbook. Packt Publishing Ltd.