Information technology or technical architecture is a framework that defines how technical components like hardware, software, networks, and security are used to support an organisation’s goals. The main goal is to ensure that the technology environment is reliable, scalable, and secure.
IT architecture includes the hierarchy and application of all existing computer systems and hardware solutions integrated within the inner processes for the purpose of their correct work and interaction with one another.
For instance, with every new software implementation, the newly developed solution has to be placed in the entire business IT architecture diagram.
Technical architecture diagrams overview
To visually outline the technical architecture of a particular software solution, engineers use various types of architecture diagrams to depict the parts of the solution’s functionality and its interaction with other inner systems, processes, and employees.
The more details such diagrams contain, the more accurate the choice of the software development approach and technology selection will be for the development team.
Further, we would like to highlight the primary type of technical architecture diagrams and their applications in software projects.
Application technical architecture diagram
The set of existing business software apps creates a single internal software system, integrated with various applications and features according to current business demands.
The application architecture diagram stands for the components of a new software application that is expected to be implemented into the unified inner system.
These documents precisely describe the functioning of the new solution, its interaction with other applications and databases, and its application within the company departments, including the responsible employees for its use.
Moreover, thanks to separately integrated apps, each of them can be upgraded independently of the inner ecosystem with no interruption in its work.
Integration architecture diagram
The integration architecture diagram is responsible for the direct process of integrating newly made applications into the existing software system within your company.
To avoid system errors and outages, the process of integration needs to consider the possible scenarios that may occur and the solutions to the issues that may arise.
Such a diagram outlines how exactly the new solution will interact with other existing applications and how they will work smoothly together after the implementation stage.
Deployment architecture diagram
The deployment architecture diagram outlines the growth and upgrading of the entire system, including each integrated application.
It shows the relationship between the software and hardware components in the system and their physical arrangement.
Such a diagram commonly contains information about the maximum number of users and components (apps) that can be added to the system to ensure all software resources are scalable and can grow with your business simultaneously.
Such diagrams are usually prepared during the implementation phase of development.
DevOps architecture diagram
The DevOps architecture diagram is used by technical architects to reveal the system’s weak points and potential errors, monitor the process of integration, work on a newly deployed tool for the ecosystem and manage app configurations.
To define the smooth flow of integration of new applications, this approach can be applied for the next required implementations.
Data architecture diagram
Business data storage is one of the most important components of any software system that allows providing insight based on the analysis of data from different sources and company departments.
Data architecture diagrams precisely depict the process of collecting data from internal and external sources, its storage, processing, and access.
This diagram helps optimise the way data is collected to allow software systems to process huge amounts of data with no impact on system functionality.
Who are technical architects?
Technical architects (sometimes also called IT systems architects) are systems logistics specialists who create, maintain, and implement IT systems. The role typically involves:
Designing the structure of technology systems
Managing the implementation of programs
Coordinating with the software development team to ensure the system runs smoothly
The technical architect supports the project from the start.
Acting as a link between managers, designers and developers, they are tasked to identify the client’s business needs, validate plans, report progress, and consult clients on future IT developments.
Further, we would like to get you acquainted with the common types of IT architects on various projects and what duties are included in their daily plans.
Enterprise architecture specialist
Enterprise architects are specialists who develop an overall enterprise architecture strategy for your business.
This type of technical architect doesn’t type a specific software system you need to integrate, but helps to determine the ongoing business requirements and specify the features these solutions need to include.
Overall, they define software applications that are required to follow your current business strategy and reach planned annual business objectives.
Infrastructure architect
An infrastructure architect is quite similar to an enterprise architect but has more technical tasks and responsibilities.
Generally, infrastructure IT architecture design is tasked with ensuring the smooth work of the integrated business software systems in case of scaling the solutions, as well as business scale-up.
They need to back up the software apps so that these solutions can work correctly, keeping the private data under higher loads and expanding business processes to manage with software.
Software architect
A software architect is a technical engineer whose task is to create the correct IT architecture for each integrated software solution within your company.
Depending on the type of software app your software development team builds, the software architect outlines the features of the future solutions, their interaction with one another and other business software systems and databases, and overall, how the system works from the inside.
Duties and responsibilities of an IT architect on the software project
Talking about the general duties and responsibilities of an IT or technical architect on a software project, we would like to highlight the main tasks and challenges this type of engineer needs to handle:
Analysis of the current business software apps to assess their suitability to ongoing requirements and overall effectiveness for the execution of the tasks for which they are applied.
Define the newly required software and hardware implementation in order to correlate with a business plan and reach the initially set business goals, ensuring their achievement with the available range of software apps or recommendations, and what kinds are still required to develop.
Keep stakeholders up to date about the current IT structure of the company and the progress in business strategy execution.
Creating and testing new network systems that can grow simultaneously with the company;
Resolving software system and network errors, ensuring the smooth work of all departments and software systems within the company.
The roles of the technical architect
At this point, we would like to take a close look at the roles and some more responsibilities technical architects commonly have as a part of an in-house or outsourcing development team.
Indeed, the range of tasks and duties is peculiar to each company’s business needs and requirements at the moment, the number of existing software systems, the number of employees, and the scaling plans.
Planning role
Each software project and the process of its building have to be precisely planned, where app architecture is the second vital stage of development.
Technical architecture is taken with outlining the future software structure (roadmap) where the client can clearly see the role of this solution in the entire company software infrastructure, its functionality, and interactions.
IT architects technically divide the software project into iterations, each of which stands for a certain part of the solution functionality, including the required resources and engineers to execute each sprint.
Team lead
The technical architect is included at the core of any development team, cooperating with specialists and engineers within the team during the entire development process.
So, basically, tech architects could be named team leads in some ways as they build the plan of IT procurement and the architecture of the future solutions, while the team turns these plans into functional systems.
Technical architecture development life cycle explained
The development process of the architecture of software systems that consists of various apps and tools is divided into three main stages: development, optimisation, and automation.
These three stages are the core components of the technical architecture life cycle for your business.
And further, we would like to take a closer look at each of these stages and their role in the technical architecture overall.
The development stage
Basically, the development part of the technical architecture life cycle consists of three steps – planning, design, and management, each of which requires taking actions and vital decisions.
Planning
At this point, the development team builds a business strategy for acquiring new software solutions on an enterprise level by evaluating the ongoing technical architecture and planning its scale.
It is pivotal to define the business vision and business value, define the current requirements and outline the future expectations of growth, and so on.
Design
As the system architecture is going to change, the team is tasked with comparing the current and expected architectures to reveal discrepancies, risks, and dependencies and fix them before the deployment of a new tool to the system.
Thus, the technical architect creates the roadmap that outlines the precise action plan or architecture pattern to execute the integration of the newly made solution into the entire company’s software architecture.
This pattern can also be applied to other implementations as a repeatable action.
Management
This level entails the approval of the architecture and roadmap with stakeholders to address any concerns they have.
You have to ensure the architecture can be scaled in the future, and also constant management of the delivery team to make sure they follow the initially selected frameworks and approaches in building and integrating new solutions.
Optimization stage
Despite the type of software apps your inner processes are implemented with, each of these solutions needs regular reviews and upgrades in functionality and technical architecture in order to provide your company with the highest possible value and benefits.
Regular reviews of architecture improve the quality of the software system, making it more efficient for your business processes.
Automation stage
Surely, the correct creation of technical architecture depends on the technical skills of the IT architecture engineer you hire for your software development project.
Nevertheless, technical architects play a key role in adopting various automation tools to create diagrams and roadmaps.
Such tools and resources enable data management in one place, allowing for easy access and management.
How to hire a technical architect?
There are three basic ways you can cooperate with technical architects – as a part of your in-house development team, as an outstaff engineer from remote software providers, or as a part of the outsourcing development team.
Taking into account the aforementioned duties and responsibilities of a technical architect, it is clear that this engineer is indispensable in any software project, from solution ideas to software product launch and maintenance.
Key considerations in hiring technical architects
Technology architects are the core part of any software development team, impacting overall architecture and customer satisfaction. When looking for a person for this job, look for the following:
Technical Skills: Deep understanding of architecture patterns, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and security principles.
Business Acumen: Ability to align technical solutions with business goals and translate complex ideas for stakeholders.
Experience: Proven track record designing and delivering scalable systems in your industry or similar projects.
Soft Skills: Strong communication, leadership, and problem-solving abilities.
Engagement Model: Decide between in-house, outstaff, or outsourcing based on budget, project duration, and control needs.
For instance, if you hire an outstaff IT architect, you need to ensure the consistency of your cooperation, as it is recommended to work with the same specialist who developed the initial software infrastructure for your company.
At Altamira, the technical architect is included in the core outsourcing development teams we provide our clients with, as we know that the IT architecture of the software solution defines the success of its development, deployment, and feasibility for your business.
IT architects play a significant role in planning and implementing information technology solutions into existing systems within your company processes.
This engineer cannot be a separate part of the development team that develops software solutions for your business requirements.
Once you create an in-house development team, an IT architect becomes your consultant in building and upgrading software apps.
If your inner team resources are lacking the solution architect to design a new solution or your business requires consultation from an enterprise architect to provide your development team with fresh insights and strategies, just contact our team, so we can plan further consultations with your tech team.
FAQ
As an example, think of a standard e-commerce platform. Its technical architecture might include:
A web front-end
A backend API
A database for storing user data and orders
A payment gateway
Hosted on a web service provider’s servers with load balancers, caching, and autoscaling in place
All of this works together behind the scenes to ensure the site runs smoothly, handles traffic effectively, and keeps your data secure.
Yes, but not necessarily on the same level as developers.
The technical architect doesn’t need to code every day, but they do need to understand how code works. They often review implementation plans, guide developers, and make high-level decisions that impact performance, scalability, and security.
While they may not be deeply immersed in writing functions all day, a strong grasp of coding fundamentals is still part of the job.
A technology architecture diagram is a visual representation of the various components of a system, including hardware, software, and network elements.
It illustrates how these components interact and work together to achieve the system’s goals.
Such diagrams help stakeholders understand the system’s design and facilitate communication among team members.
The structure of technical architecture typically includes several key layers:
Presentation Layer: This is where user interactions take place, often involving web or mobile interfaces.
Application Layer: This layer contains the business logic and application services.
Data Layer: Here, data storage solutions, such as databases and data warehouses, reside.
Infrastructure Layer: This encompasses the hardware and network resources that support the application, including servers and network devices.
Each layer serves a specific purpose and ensures the overall functionality and performance of the system.
Designing a technical architecture covers several steps:
Identify requirements: Understand the functional and non-functional requirements of the system.
Define components: Determine the key components needed to meet these requirements, including software, hardware, and network elements.
Establish relationships: Map out how these components interact and depend on each other.
Select technologies: Choose the appropriate technologies and platforms that align with the project’s goals.
Document the design: Create diagrams and documentation to clearly communicate the architecture to stakeholders.
Technical design refers to the detailed planning of how specific components will be implemented within the architecture.
It focuses on the technical specifications, algorithms, and data structures needed to build the system.
In contrast, technical architecture provides a broader overview of the system’s structure and components.
While technical design is more granular, technical architecture sets the overall framework within which the design operates.
There are different roles of technical architects – creating an enterprise architecture plan for a certain company, an entire business system or a separate software project.
The IT architect is responsible for designing the future solution architecture, including its features within the inner software system, ensuring smooth integration and work of a newly developed software application.
The life cycle of IT architecture, part of the software project’s development, is divided into three parts:
Development, where the IT architect designs and builds the action plan for developers.
Optimisation, which focuses on regular software reviews and upgrades.
Automation, where developers focus on the implementation of automation tools.