co m ple t e it pro f e ssio nal.

co m
http://www.co mpleteitpro fessio nal.co m/skills/what-is-it-architecture-and-what-do es-it-invo lve/

What Is IT Architecture And What Does It Involve?

by Ben o n March 12, 2012 edit

T he term “IT Architect” or “IT Architecture” is used a lot in the IT industry. At f irst,
I didn’t really know what it meant – but over time I was able to understand it. You
might have the same level of conf usion. I hope to get rid of that conf usion in this
article and answer, “What is IT architecture?”

What Is An Architect?
An architect, in the most common f orm of the word, is a building or construction
architect. T hey design buildings by def ining what it needs to look like and how it
needs to be built. T his involves:

Designing a building
Using standard tools, practices and resources to achieve a result
Def ining what various components are and how they work together

T hey are involved in the early stages of a building’s construction, both in working out what the customer
wants and how it can be developed. T hey don’t actually do any of the building or construction work
themselves – that’s lef t to other prof essionals in the building industry (I’m f ar f rom an expert in the building
industry, so this may seem like an overly simplif ied example of these jobs).

What Is an IT/Inf ormation Technology Architect?

We’ve established what a building architect is. So, what is IT architecture? We can use the same points to
def ine what an IT architect is.

Designing A System Or Set Of Systems

Instead of deigning a building, an IT architect is involved in the design phase of a system or a set of
systems. T hey will need to know what a system is required to do, what is involved in providing that system,
what business process or problem is involved, and how it links to other systems.

In many cases, an IT architect or system architect will need to have a broad view of a company’s IT
inf rastructure or requirements. T hey will need to know the most ef f ective way of providing an IT solution
that meets the company’s requirements, budget and other constraints.

Using Standard Tools, Practices And Resources To Achieve A Result

T his part of an architect’s role is similar to a building architect. T he use of standard tools f or designing
systems is recommended, due to widely accepted best practices and ef f iciency benef its. While a builder
may have standards f or their drawing labels, symbols, rules and regulations they need to f ollow, an IT
architect or system architect has similar standards.

Standards exist f or diagram symbols, methods and types. A common standard is the Unif ied Modelling
Language, otherwise known as UML. UML is a large language f or diagramming and includes a lot of areas of
system design, many of which are relevant to the design part of a system architect’s role.

Def ining Various Components And How They Work Together

T he systems or sof tware that the IT architect or system architect def ines need to include details about
various components and how they work together. T his could be at a high level – involving many systems
around the department or company, or at a lower level – involving a particular system that includes many
linked components. T here are many reasons these need to be def ined:

To conf irm the current and proposed def initions of a set of systems or a single system, between the
architect, the technical teams, the users, and any management teams involved.
To describe the details of linked systems or system components f or various technical teams.
Dif f erent teams may be responsible f or dif f erent areas of a system or dif f erent systems altogether.
Communication between these components is common, and someone needs to def ine and
document them. T his is where the IT architect comes in.

I hope this article has helped you to understand the question, “what is IT architecture?” T hanks f or reading
– f eel f ree to leave a comment if you have any thoughts on IT architecture.

For more IT career tips and inf ormation on how YOU can improve YOUR IT career, visit Complete IT
Prof essional!

Image: ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net