How is an Architectu0026#x27;s role changing in the Digital Transformation era?
May 19, 2015
We are in the age of Digital Transformation. The concept is everywhere, in all discussions… but why ? Mainly because all companies need to innovate, transform their business model to stay in the competition in a rapidly changing world, fostered by fast-changing technologies. Companies need to provide more and more business value for a Business to Business to Customer/Consumer(B2B2C) ecosystem!
But in this situation, what is the role of an architect? Has it changed? Yes, for sure! Now, the architect’s role needs to adapt to this new model, with respect to business, organization and governance. The architect should no longer be responsible only for defining how to use one or another technology to build solutions. The architect’s role, in the digital transformation era, is to define WHAT solution to build and WHY, and HOW will that specific solution offer business value to the whole ecosystem of the company, for the given business model.
The architect’s role has become a key role in organizations, just like the new Chief Digital Officer’s role. The architect needs to build the bridge connecting the business, the operations and the IT! He/she will increasingly define which ‘off-the-shelf’ components to integrate and how to build the new business solution that will push the new business ecosystem – named B2B2C.
The other big concern for architects is the optimization of the time spent to realize all tasks to build the solution. So, the architect’s role has become as important as the project manager’s role. He/she is the team leader that develops the vision and builds the digital strategy for the company – the strategy that will provide a business advantage to the company to win the competition. This means that the architect has to understand the business model and the impact of his/her solution on the business model!
As an architect, I’ve taken up this evolved role as a great challenge!