Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for Solution Architect

two solution architects discussing about the architecture of their solution

The role of a solution architect can be very broad and requires him/her to have a wide range of skills. The main responsibility is to design, implement and manage the architecture of a system or solution. In this blog post we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Solution Architects.

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Main Responsibilities of Solution Architect

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Solution Architect:

Analyze

Analyze, design, plan, execute and evaluate work to time, cost and quality targets.
Analyse requirements and advise on scope and options for continuous operational improvement.
Analyze and understand client's business objectives and needs.
Analyze current technical solution to meet the business process.
Analyze lessons learned and share with the SAP CoE community.
Analyze the viability of the solution to meet product timelines, budget and quality.
Analyze, understand, and document the business processes in detail where required.

Apply

Apply technical aptitude and design patterns across state government verticals and use cases.
Apply technical aptitude and design patters across multiple industry verticals and use cases.

Architect

Architect and design complex Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC solutions.
Architect and document technical solutions that are aligned with client business objectives.
Architect the BMC Remedy platform to meet identified functional and non-functional requirements.
Architect the CEP web sites and mobile apps.

Assess

Assess and make recommendations on processes, designs, operations, and testing.
Assess and optimize assigned subsets of the CyberSecurity Portfolio.
Assess new opportunities from a technological feasibility point of view.
Assess situations quickly and demonstrate a hands-on, "can do” attitude.
Assist delivery managers on project planning.

Assist in / Assist with

Assist in developing the technical response to RFPs, RVDs, and other sales related vehicles.
Assist in elaborating and implementing staff development / action plans.
Assist in on-boarding, coaching and mentoring team members to customer program team.
Assist in preparing business case for recommended.
Assist in the presentation of proposed solutions to prospective clients and / or customers.
Assist Pivotal's customers in migrating existing apps to Pivotal Cloud Foundry.
Assist Project Manager to ensure smooth delivery of the RPA solution.
Assist the organization in developing and implementing its modern workplace strategy.
Assist top professors / researchers on their GPU research works.
Assist transition from the legacy system which will lead to a legacy system being retired.
Assist with broadening internal knowledge through knowledge transfer.
Assist with the delivery of cloud-based application architectures and development.
Assist with the development of cloud design standards related to the Microsoft Office 365 and Azure.
Assist with the development of demos and proof of concepts.
Assist with the root cause and failure analysis to resolve systems problems.

Attend

Attend partner events as an AMD representative and subject matter authority.
Attend requirement and analysis meetings.
Attend advanced training sessions.

Build

Build a community of practice of knowledge sharing on disruptive innovation leveraging technology.
Build and follow principles and best practices with regards to solution design.
Build conceptual architecture and develop solution options that match your clients' requirements.
Build effective solutions based on business requirements, as clarified by AM's and BA's.
Build impactful, personal customer relationships.
Build appropriate and effective business relationships.

Champion

Champion a structured approach to data application solutions.
Champion Security and foster best practices in the DevSecOps context.

Coach

Coach and develop the AND Digital Product Developers across the squads.
Coach, mentor and support colleagues on effective consulting strategies.

Collaborate

Collaborate and share with the technical community.
Collaborate with other teams regarding price determination.
Collaborate with other teams within Zaizi, share knowledge and drive continuous improvement.
Collaborate with senior and junior team members on larger projects.
Collaborate with senior leaders to ensure alignment of Global Cyber Security initiatives.
Collaborate with team members on design and build of the SAP eco-system and infrastructure.
Collaborate with the Client lead architect to build and maintain the Client architecture roadmap.
Collaborate with the customer development team to guide the implementation of API integrations.

Communicate

Communicate business and technology decisions to broader audiences and serves as a change agent.
Communicate clearly and efficiently.
Communicate product features and updates to Product Management.
Communicate relevant information to clients, technicians, and management.
Communicate with users when needed.

Complete

Complete architecture resiliency assessment.
Complete programming, testing, and debugging of applications.
Complete required deliverables in alignment with project and business timelines.

Conduct

Conduct application training for customers / super users.
Conduct pre- and post-implementation reviews.
Conduct review and governance on supplier Designs / test strategy / unit.

Contribute to

Contribute to a strong business relationship through interactions with end-users.
Contribute to BCI's reference architecture and the ongoing evolution of DevOps practices.
Contribute to project planning and ensuring deliverables meet contract and work plan objectives.
Contribute to readiness plan for account based on customer's projects.

Create

Create a monthly editorial calendar.
Create and implement for various aspects of CI / CD in the Enterprise.
Create and maintain effective client relationships.
Create and maintain specifications, documents, test plans and scripts.
Create and maintain standards for development and design techniques.
Create and Manage standardized template library and sales request checklist.
Create and present solution architecture documents.
Create content such as blog posts, white papers, sample code, and webinars.
Create design / engineering documentation of a complete component or product [SO, PG, DL, OF].
Create detailed software specifications for Developers.
Create, estimate, and solution user stories.
Create feasible, scalable and maintainable Salesforce solutions that meet the business goals.
Create, maintain & communicate positioning / go-forward strategies for data & analytic capabilities.
Create Post Engagement Summaries and Document final solutions for customers.
Create proposals for design guidelines.
Create ‘Request for Proposal' documents in collaboration with different business entities.
Create reusable components and services.
Create solution architecture documents in collaboration with various stakeholders.
Create technical requirement specification for technical solution for R&D project.
Create whitepapers, proposals, and other technical briefings to demonstrate our thought leadership.

Define

Define and documents procedures for processes and workflows.
Define and establish right size processes to enable productive use of resources.
Define and implement business process workflows using MDM tools to enforce data governance.
Define scope and objectives for all aspects of our Workday integration with Oracle cloud ERP.
Define strategy for and produce technical documentation.
Define technological alignments.
Define the architecture in support of reusable capabilities that can be federated globally.
Define what success means for each feature and each function before it even goes to development.

Deliver

Deliver application architectures and development patterns for web and mobile across e-Commerce.
Deliver under pressure with excellent time management skills and prioritization.

Design

Design and specify the solution's infrastructure needs to Infrastructure Technical services (ITS).
Design capabilities in sync with business objectives.
Design comprehensive Solution Architectures for new and existing products and services.
Design demonstration of retail processes for clients.
Design differentiated wireless technical solutions that fit customer current and future requirements.
Design complex component architectures.
Design solution architecture for businesses.
Design solutions that recognize and adapt to the business, technical, and financial constraints.
Design the solution and supports the installation, customization, and integration of the solution.
Design the solution architecture using BlueCat and related technologies (F5 / Citrix / VCO).

Determine

Determine, recommend, document best fit solutions.
Determine Strategy for High Level Design.

Develop

Develop and document software based on a defined set of design and performance requirements.
Develop and maintain dashboard and KPI of the utilization and health or services.
Develop AWS architectural designs that includes - IaaS, Networking, App Services, Databases, etc..
Develop best practices within Supplier Risk Management and be a champion for their adoption.
Develop customer specific architectures, solution roadmaps, proposals, and business plans.
Develop HL7 Real Time interfaces in alignment to the business and technical requirements.
Develop integration modules to deploy NCR solutions in an integrated platform.
Develop migration and transformation approaches.
Develop Proofs of Concepts of solutions for engineering teams to consume.
Develop proposals and pricing models for complex or innovative solutions.
Develop security strategy and security inclusive design.
Develop solutions architecture and evaluate architectural alternatives for 5G services.
Develop technical integration approaches, including data flow and architectural diagram / visuals.

Document

Document and present findings to the NGI Leadership team in a clear and concise manner.
Document and share standard methodologies and case studies.
Document best practices and recommendations and create and maintain templates.
Document comprehensive business user stories and requirements.
Document design and / or maintenance processes as necessary.
Documents the SAP application architecture based on standard architectural frameworks.
Document test reports & technical documents that can be shared with Partners.
Document what you know, and guide others.

Drive

Drive adherence to / operationalization of strategies across the organization.
Drive and develop the architecture for all software applications within the GEC Technology Stack.
Drive and manage highly visible IT projects.
Drive best practices, architectural assessments, and work breakdown to support client services.
Drive compliance to the architecture governance processes and with all relevant laws and regulations.
Drive growth and excellence within the team.
Drive requirement workshops and serve as the Salesforce platform expert.
Drive the creation of SOW's for Digital Workspace environments with the Sales and PS teams.

Engage

Engage and consult with our customers and sales people to gather customer requirements.
Engage and partner with customers at a business and technical level.
Engage in practice development initiatives and frequently run knowledge storms.
Engage in peer reviews of colleague's work, as appropriate to experience and expertise.
Engage in learning from others, inside and outside the organization.

Ensure

Ensure a consistent approach and implementation of processes and technology in solution areas.
Ensure appropriate requirements are included in broader, enterprise-wide IT governance.
Ensure compliance with security and governance policies for data in flight and at rest.
Ensure data is secure, relevant, and maintains high quality standards.
Ensure HLD is up-to-date if there are changes identified during LLD / Implementation.
Ensure integrity, scalability and transportability of implemented solutions.
Ensure Systems Implementer adheres to Dentons standards and 3E solution architecture.
Ensure that all cloud solutions adhere to enterprise cloud security and compliance controls.
Ensure that applications perform as expected and with maximum availability.
Ensure that development teams fully understand, and follow Solutions Designs.
Ensure that integration requirements are aligned with the customer's business and success objectives.
Ensure that key decisions are identified, logged and manages the Key Design Decisions to conclusion.
Ensure the delivered solution is the recommended and approved solution.
Ensure the delivery of development tasks within deadlines.
Ensure the solution design fulfills functional and technical requirements.

Establish

Establish and maintain relationships with key client IT leaders.
Establish global CRM architecture by integrating solutions across functional lines.
Establish positive relationships and communication channels with internal teams.
Establish standards and best practices for all technology supporting the advice channel.

Evaluate

Evaluate new technologies and approaches to solve complex technical challenges.
Evaluate organizational capabilities, make recommendations for development of new capabilities or.
Evaluate technologies that support the realization of strategy.
Evaluate the feasibility of alternative directions for future architecture / platforms.

Evangelize

Evangelize D365 Customer Engagement based offerings within the Region.
Evangelize methodologies for building and operating highly available, scalable services.

Focus on

Focus on customer service with the attitude of delivering excellent outcomes.
Focus on "Reuse before Buy before Make” when providing direction on future solutions.

Follow

Follow best practices for developing applications and services.
Follow the principles and guidance set out by the Solution Architecture team.

Generate

Generate brand ideas and initiatives.
Generate SOWs and other deliverables for presentation to clients.
Generate SOWs (Statement of Work) and Document final solutions for customers.
Generate value from the Azure enterprise data lake and manage its operations.

Guide

Guide customer through Solution deployment.
Guide technical documentation format and ensure teams properly document projects.

Help

Help customers understand Adobe's capabilities and the transformative power of digital marketing.
Help ideate and test solutions to important problems.
Help implement the proper data governance for the CDP platform.
Help in draft requirements for missing features to unblock progress at customers / partners.
Help in mapping business requirements to Salesforce Industry (SFI) Vlocity.
Help drive agile and devops culture of implementation and product management culture.
Help lead technical design sessions for Microsoft cloud related projects.
Help to identify new business opportunities.

Identify

Identify alternative solutions.
Identify and implements process improvements.
Identify and integrate partners into delivery of MVP and production workloads.
Identify and mitigate solution risks.
Identify key business drivers and technology capabilities required to achieve clients' optimal state.
Identify one to two specialization areas.
Identify risks / issues and propose mitigation plans to remove barriers.
Identify strategic partnerships and evaluate new partner managers.
Identify technical risk and debt in projects and develop strategies to alleviate it.

Implement

Implement complex API based microservices and familiarity with distributed systems.
Implement the overall system design and exhibit awareness of user experience standards.

Influence

Influence and engages C-Level with authority and confidence.
Influence hardware and software technology selection for the enterprise.

Inspire

Inspire and educate technical and business teams.
Inspire other architects and help them understand how to deliver the goals of the organisation.

Insure

Insure proper transition from built phase to run with our service provider.

Lead

Lead all phases of software development, from planning to deployment to support.
Lead and develop innovative solutions and approaches in support of proposal efforts.
Lead and mentor other team members as part of project activities.
Lead as a subject matter expert on RFI / RFP and contract negotiations.
Lead a team of developers and assist to their hiring and professional development.
Lead business and technical requirements analysis throughout pre- and post-sales.
Lead by example and model the team behaviors to the team and wider organization.
Lead client facing conversations on migrating to Cloud-based solutions.
Lead client relationships and expectations, and oversee the work of more junior consultants.
Lead client workshops and discovery sessions.
Lead consultative engagements with business stakeholders on business goals and challenges.
Lead cross-departmental partnership for accurate and achievable goals.
Lead, define and adhere to Acxiom solution standards, estimates, processes, policies and procedures.
Lead on workshops, speaking events and blog posts about the cloud native challenges for enterprises.
Lead product evaluations, POCs and project estimations based on agreed architecture.
Lead and build migration solution for hybrid cloud platform (on-prem, off-prem, dedicated cloud).
Lead feasibility assessments for proposed service implementations or changes.
Lead Technical reviews of the solutions.
Lead the creation of functional designs to improve or develop standard BIS solutions and services.
Lead the definition of a Managed Services solution that meets the agreed requirements.
Lead the definition of operational reports, service level agreements, and process-related KPIs.
Lead the development of project charters.
Lead the execution of deep technical engagements, including.

Leverage

Leverage and promote Cloud technologies to deliver innovative solutions and enhance productivity.
Leverage best practice software tools to automate and simplify work flows.
Leverage new technology paradigms (e.g., serverless, containers, microservices).

Liaise

Liaise with other architects and security practitioners to share best practices and insights.
Liaise with Sales and support groups for Client related projects and needs.
Liaise with third party suppliers as appropriate.

Maintain

Maintain a current understanding of the CSP market and its dynamics.
Maintain and evolve the software team's DevOps infrastructure.
Maintain awareness of trends in IT security technology and regulatory requirements.
Maintain current knowledge of the entire VMware product line.
Maintain expert knowledge of the Dropthought platform and products.
Maintain key user networks and drive adoption of users towards standard solutions.
Maintain technical skills and knowledge of market trends and competitive insights.

Manage

Manage contract (s) with local cloud providers or cloud operators.
Manage executive communications across VMware and Partner organizations.
Manage GitHub repositories and permissions, including branching and tagging.
Manage infrastructure requests.
Manage Pricefx colleagues and partners on the assigned projects.
Manage program stakeholders including participation / running Design Authority forums.
Manage resources to maximise results.
Manage the development and enablement of a select set of strategic partners in North America.
Manage the end user adoption and business process support process.
Manage trade-offs between speed to market, quality and financial impact.

Mentor

Mentor and train project team members on the Solution details for a smoother execution.
Mentor other technical resources.
Mentor Product Architects & Implementation Consultants team members.

Oversee

Oversee developers responsible for individual domains of change or equivalent, or subsets thereof.
Oversee technical project delivery process with key contributors to help manage scope.

Own

Own the applications and vendor relationships within the domain.
Own the technical relationship with the customer and operate as their trusted advisor.
Own the technical roadmap for your projects and align it with the company technology priorities.

Participate in

Participate actively in daily standup, agile grooming, and other standard meetings.
Participate and lead code review sessions.
Participate in after hour escalations to assist on call team members.
Participate in all stages of the product development life cycle.
Participate in business development activities, bids and development of innovative offerings.
Participate in cross-functional teams of both business process and technology.
Participate in E2E functionality assessment during Validation Testing phases (SIT, UAT).
Participate in process flow analysis and process redesign along with project managers.
Participate in product design discussions to represent customer needs and challenges.
Participate in requirements analysis and documentation and development of acceptance criteria.
Participate in the budgetary evaluation of projects.
Participate in the definition and specification of the datacenter's network services.
Participate in the identification, qualification and prioritization of an opportunity pipeline.
Participate with the respective client functional lead throughout system testing.

Perform

Perform advanced troubleshooting and problem resolution.
Perform a technological leadership and influential role with others.
Perform GAP analysis to determine customization and project planning purposes.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Plan

Plan and coordinate activities to ensure compliance with regulations, standards and requirements.
Plan and integrate the work activities of virtual IT teams.

Prepare

Prepare and deliver partner and internal AMD technical training sessions.
Prepare development guidelines.

Present

Present architecture and design artefacts to stakeholders and approvers and obtain approval.
Present complex information and communicates with an effective manner for a given audience.
Present on relevant topics in user groups and forumsWhat type of person excels at this role?.
Present products or solutions that would be beneficial to our client's business.
Presents themselves well in customer settings.

Prioritize

Prioritize and manage competing client project tasks.

Provide

Provide analysis of information security / protection technologies.
Provide architectural guidance to the project teams.
Provide architectural support to key initiatives through ideation, design, scope, test, etc..
Provide clear choices and recommendations that enable both business and technical decision making.
Provide consultation on cross tower EA issues and resolutions.
Provide consultation on cross tower Enterprise Architecture issues.
Provide credible technical knowledge and insight to stakeholders and if needed to external customers.
Provide education on technologies to others who are not as familiar with them.
Provide end to end 'holistic' client engagement leadership and support.
Provide engineering and design contributions to complex, highly-available computing environments.
Provide estimates outlining the following details.
Provide estimation to customers on rough cost and timeline to realize solution.
Provide liaison between the stakeholders, and employees.
Provide mentoring and team leadership to other architects.
Provide overall solution integrity of marketing solutions across multiple clients.
Provide programming expertise and business analysis skills within broad business areas.
Provide project team leadership and partner engagement.
Provide recommendations on value-added architectural improvements / enhancements.
Provide recommendation with detailed solution design to achieve corporate project objectives.
Provide support for the installation and operations of complex system hardware.
Provide technical expertise to the Security POCs in support of Security Engineering and Compliance.
Provide technical review of system configurations to ensure viability of system performance.
Provide technical support for GPU system deployments.
Provide thought-leadership to our clients on digital marketing domain and modern marketing operation.

Recommend

Recommend architectural standards for complex infrastructure based on standards.
Recommend RPA approach and strategy based on analysis and client RPA maturity.

Represent

Represent Managed Services at the Client architecture review board as defined by Client.
Represent the voice of the customer.

Research

Research and analyze business requirements to recommend optimal architecture solutions.
Research and evaluation of technologies, products and approaches.
Research technical strategies, third party tools, current and new technologies and technology trends.

Resolve

Resolve project technical issues that have escalated through the project teams.
Resolve complex problems and monitor usage of the data warehouse.

Review

Review, analyses and evaluates business system and user needs.
Review and analyze existing systems and make recommendations for improvements.
Review and critique the solutions of others.
Review and incorporate domain expertise for technical documentation generated by peers.
Review and interpret business requirements and develop detailed technical requirements.
Review business context for solutions to challenges.
Review network segmentation to ensure least privilege for network access.

Set

Set and manage performance expectations with the team.
Set deadlines for project team members.

Supervise

Supervise, mentor and coach developers.
Supervise, mentor and coach Senior Developers / Dev Leads.
Supervise, train, mentor junior level programmers in programming and program coding.

Support

Support development, test and deployment teams, driving quality and velocity outcomes.
Support integration design, validation, test and execution.
Support & mentor other team members.
Support next-generation services partner recruitment efforts.
Support Sales and Professional Services teams with delivery of the proposed solutions.
Support the Delivery / Service manager in DevOps.
Support the development of proposals, quotes and presentations and provide technical input as needed.
Support the Power Platform play.
Support the Sales and Marketing strategy for the National Data Centre Practice.
Support UAT activities by providing input to test cases recommended for configuration changes.

Take

Take a peek into Adobe life in this video.
Take a primary role to assist them to develop and implement their modern workplace strategy.
Take inputs from Enterprise Architecture, internal customers and the Cloud Platform Team.
Take learning from the field and feed them back to improve our products, solutions and sales process.
Take on more platform and product features and continue to grow into a software engineer.

Translate

Translate customer requirements into implementation plans.
Translate solution design into Features, User Stories in Rally for Engineers / Developers to work.
Understand
Understand EPD information needs in the context of business strategies and priorities.
Understand how Salesforce Cloud features, apps or products interact with each other.
Understands the political landscape and informal hierarchy within the firm.
Understands the technical depth of the project and validates the correct resources for the project.
Understand the JCR (Apache Jack Rabbit Oak) and file system storage / tree storage concepts.
Understand the market segments, customer base, and industry verticals.
Understand the strategic direction as it relates to overall GCP strategy.
Understand the Tyk code and how it applies to a customer's requirements and use case.
Understand what the allocated tasks / activities per project are.

Work with

Work with Inside Sales Account Managers to assist customers with their mission critical projects.
Work with IT infrastructure teams to deploy and maintain applications.
Work with partners building the EGX stack on their edge platforms.
Work with product owners across several high priority and concurrent efforts.
Work with Project Manager (PM) regarding scope, tasks, and resourcing.
Work with sales team, business leaders, and delivery owners to get buy-in on the prescribed solution.
Work with service and product managers to identify / document service requirements.
Work with software developers, technical leaders and the product team.
Work with suppliers / governance of suppliers.
Work with the Business Development team to develop and execute selling strategies.

Write

Write adhoc queries for data analysis from the Enterprise Data Hub.
Write clear, concise and engaging copy for emails, websites, guides, blog posts and social media.
Write technical documentation for the delivered solution.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Solution Architect:

AWS
Design
Java
Azure
Architecture
Python
Cloud
Javascript
SQL
Agile
Security
Implementation
Oracle
Project Management
Software Engineering
Consulting
Software Development
Devops
Docker
Kubernetes
Business
Designing
C#
.Net
GCP
Rest
Solution Architecture
Togaf
CSS
Networking
HTML
SAP
Linux
SOA
Information Systems
Infrastructure
Sales
Scrum
Machine Learning
Storage
Integration
Analytics
Databases
Microservices
XML
AI
Best Practices
Mysql
Automation
IT

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Solution Architect:

Written and oral communication skills
Problem-solving attitude
Analytical ability
Interpersonal skills
Presentation
Leadership
Organizational capacity
Collaborative
Team player
Attention to detail
Self-motivated
Self-starter
Facilitation
Multi-task
Negotiation
Time-management
Creative
Bilingualism
Detail-oriented
Work independently with little direction
Organized
Teamwork
Communications
Flexible
Learn and apply new concepts and technologies
Proactive
Enthusiastic
Priority management
Adaptable to changes
Prioritize across multiple sales opportunities at the same time
Troubleshooting skills
Critical thinker
Results-oriented
Initiative
Innovative
Drive to solve customer problems
Team leadership
Architectures
Confident
Decision-making