Enterprise Architects: What Are They, and What Do They Do?

In the United States, the national average salary for an enterprise architect is $150,782 per year. Making six figures a year is ideal for many, but what are enterprise architects exactly?

When you hear the word ‘architect’, you might not think about IT work, but that is exactly what an enterprise architect’s job entails. If you’re interested in working in IT, this could be the career path for you.

Read on to learn what exactly an enterprise architect is and what they do.

What Are Enterprise Architects?

Enterprise architects are responsible for maintaining an organization’s IT services. Someone working as an enterprise architect needs to improve and upgrade enterprise services along with hardware and software.

An enterprise architect will stay on top of the latest trends to help businesses improve.

Job Description and Requirements

Now that you know, “What is an enterprise architect?”, you might be wondering how to become one. Typically, becoming an enterprise architect requires an undergraduate degree in a related field, such as computer science.

After graduation, someone will need to gain experience of around five to 10 years before landing the role. Some companies require you to have a master’s degree as well.

These are the skills some companies look for in an enterprise architect:

• Communication
• Analytical skills
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving skills

Although each company looking for someone to fill this role will ask for something different, most want someone with the following experience:

• SQL
• Data sourcing
• Enterprise data management
• Modeling
• Business strategy
• Auditing
• Compliance

Most importantly, a company will require an enterprise architect to know and implement the Enterprise Architect (EA) framework. There is no step-by-step enterprise architect guide for this, but instead a holistic view of technology. Also, the structural warranty is one of the best insurance policies for you which protects against structural defects.

Enterprise Architecture Plan

A framework helps an enterprise architect come up with an enterprise architecture plan (EAP). This is how they get a full view of business technology to learn where they can improve the overall company.

There are different frameworks that an enterprise architect can use as a guide. All enterprise architects should learn The Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGAF), as it is the most popular way to get certified.

Other common methodologies that help an enterprise architect develop an EAP include the following:

• The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture
• Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF)
• Gartner EAP best practices
• European Space Agency Architectural Framework (ESAAF)
• SAP Enterprise Architecture Framework

There are enterprise architecture tools and software designed to help an enterprise architecture manage present and future technology. All of these things combined benefit an enterprise architect.

Do You Want a Career in Enterprise Architecture?

Enterprise architects can make a lot of money, but stepping into the role is not easy. To become an enterprise architect, you’ll need a bachelor’s and possibly a master’s degree, than years of experience in the field.

The biggest thing you’ll need to learn as an enterprise architect is how to create an enterprise architecture plan. Learning how to do this can be done through a certification process.

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