The Network Architect: The Brightest IT Star (let me tell you why!)
One of the brightest stars in technology is the Network Architect. Does that sound like a bold statement? Let me share my passion with you and tell you why.
First, what is a Network Architect and what do they do?
A Network Architect is responsible for designing network for organizations which, includes local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), Internet and other communication systems but also test and implement those.
The Network architect has the ability to turn the business wheels from a 45-degree view to a 360-degree view by giving the customer fault tolerance, high availability, and business continuity that helps businesses run at their full potential.
Although the core skills of a network architect are no doubt technical knowledge, certifications, and experience on Enterprise network, security, data Centre, etc. But soft skills and proven leadership are equally important. The network architects are customer-facing, which requires excellent communication and presentational skills, as they meet the customer to understand their business needs and lead them to the network solution that completely meets their business goal and also meets the network architect’s ultimate goal.
Next, Five reasons why they are Stars!
The customers are growing their businesses to explore new markets. Their main focus is to win large customers by either acquiring or merging with them. Hence the network architect engages with the customer to integrate their existing data centers and build a new design to transform their business.
The most important skill an architect possesses, in my opinion, is the passion that drives the ability to translate business goals, objectives, and requirements into a technical design which leads to an increase in the business revenue.
In a nutshell, the goal of the network architect is design efficient, cost-effective network infrastructure that meets the long-term IT and business goal of an organization, while permitting the organization to meet it’s short-term and financial obligations.
Finally, what sets Network Architect apart from other Network Professionals
The passion. Most people would call network architect a profession, But I would call it a passion, the passion that is waiting for a new challenge. The passion to analyze and express business strategies and business requirements early on to develop technology roadmaps to meet the business goal.
With the growing use of mobile devices, new apps, the cloud, and the IoT, the network architect role has become even more complex and critical for Enterprise companies to excel. The network architect is the only one who can craft the network blueprint, while considering all aspects such as hardware and software.
A network architect always looks at the big picture and what is needed over the next three to five years and develops road maps for solution and their framework, as well as perform network designing, planning and budgeting.
