Data architects are leading experts in data-focused professions. Acquiring the skills necessary to become a professional is like laying the bricks of a wall. If you proceed in a planned and meticulous manner, you will have a solid wall. Otherwise, without an expert opinion of data architecture, a business should be prepared against earthquakes.

An IT specialist known as a data architect outlines the rules, processes, models, and tools that will be utilized for gathering, organizing, storing, and accessing corporate data. It’s common to conflate this role with database architects and data engineers. However, although the previously described professionals apply such links and policies to the architecture of particular databases, data architects concentrate on high-level business intelligence linkages and policies.

In the middle of the big data boom, new organizational positions have evolved those assist businesses in everyday complicated data sourcing, processing, and assimilation from both within and outside the firm. In today’s data-driven environment, one such role that is extremely relevant is data architect or big data architect.

What do data architects do?

The designs for an organization’s data management systems are created by data architects, just like traditional architects.

Data architects develop the blueprints that businesses use to create their data management systems, much like traditional architects create blueprints for the framework needed to make structures. This involves creating a data management framework that satisfies technological and business needs while maintaining data security and legal compliance. Data architects are employed across various sectors, such as technology, entertainment, healthcare, finance, and government.

What exactly is data architecture?

The process of standardizing an organization’s data collection, storage, transformation, distribution, and use is known as data architecture. The objective is to provide pertinent information to those who require it at the appropriate time and assist them in making sense of it.

For many years, an organization’s business strategist had to ask IT for access to certain data. The data engineer would hand-code a specific SQL query to give the solution after receiving a sometimes hazy explanation of what was needed. This was a laborious, time-consuming process that frequently produced something that didn’t satisfy the initial requestor’s requirements or expectations. Accessing the appropriate data at the appropriate time was significantly more challenging in this environment because the bandwidth constrained the business strategy that IT could provide.

Understanding the significance of Data as a Service in a digital-first world

Business strategists now demand more and quicker insights from data to make critical decisions due to the availability and increase of real-time data from both internal and external data sources. In this new context, the outdated method of one-off specialized solutions simply won’t work.

Modern data architecture design makes the promise that a well-designed process will bring business strategists with domain knowledge and data engineers with technical knowledge together at the same table. Together, they may decide what data is required to advance the company, how to obtain it, and how to disseminate it so that decision-makers have access to useful information.

The new data stars, the data architects, are the visionaries who see beyond the company’s needs and are always looking for methods to advance the IT infrastructure’s handling of data to keep up with the surge in data demand.

The expanding importance of the cloud, which offers the kind of quick, simple, and affordable scalability that contemporary data architecture requires has propelled big data into the real world. A common data lake or data warehouse, where ideally, just one master version of the data is accessible to those who need it, is another cloud feature that enables enterprises to pool most or all of their data.

Three levels of data architecture

Experts section three main data architecture levels: physical, conceptual, and external.

Physical level

The three-level architecture’s lowest level is this one. The actual method of data storage in the database is described at the physical level. This data is initially saved as bits on external hard drives, and it is then stated to be stored as files and folders at a slightly higher level. Techniques for compression and encryption are also covered at the physical level.

All businesses need an inclusive approach to their data HQ

Conceptual level

The conceptual level explains the layout of the database for the users as well as the connections between different data tables. How the data is actually kept in the database is unimportant at the conceptual level.

External level

In the three-level architecture, this is the highest and closest to the user. The view level is another name for it. The rest of the data is hidden at the external level, which only presents users with views of the pertinent database content. As a result, various users can see the information in various ways depending on their specific needs.

The roles and responsibilities of data architects

The link between business operations and IT is provided by data architects. Within the company’s technology architecture, business activities gather and use the data, and IT obtains, saves, and retrieves that data from database resources. The data architect is primarily a planner and designer, as is typical of IT positions with the title architect. They frequently conduct business across the entire organization.

Data architects are hands-on practitioners who understand how to construct and optimize the data architecture, facilitating seamless data flow among all users.

Data architects collaborate with a variety of other positions and divisions within the company, including the following:

Line organizations

Data architects frequently communicate with important team leaders and managers. Because of the connection between business requirements, applications, and data, they play a significant role in application design in many organizations.

Chief information officers

In order to express the line organizational data collection and usage requirements and to connect these requirements with the available database and application technologies, data architects will collaborate with CIOs and their employees.

Other data-focused professions

Data engineers, database developers and specialists, database administrators, and application development teams translate high-level data models and management policies into specific applications, database models, and implementations.

The required skills to become one of the best data architects out there

A combination of business and technical abilities is needed for data architects. The main competencies needed are those for converting company needs and operational procedures into data management and gathering procedures. It is especially beneficial to have business architecture experience. Some businesses stretch the term “data architect” to the more inclusive “solutions architect,” signifying a deeper affiliation with EA in those businesses.

Data architect skills

The following are a few essential data architect skills:

• Understanding of system development, including the system development life cycle, project management strategies, and requirements
• Data modeling and design, as well as SQL development and database administration
• Understanding of machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive modeling technologies
• Understanding of the fundamentals of columnar and NoSQL databases, data visualization, unstructured data, and predictive analytics, as well as the ability to integrate common data management and reporting tools.
• Skills in machine learning, visualization, and data mining
• Python, C/C++, Java, and Perl
• Besides, a data architect needs to coordinate and collaborate with users, system designers, and developers in their day-to-day functions. As such, soft skills like effective communication, team management, problem-solving, and leadership are highly desirable traits of a data architect. 

Are there data architect courses?

A bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related discipline is the ideal place to start if you want to become a data architect. Data management, programming, big data advances, systems analysis, and technological architectures should all be covered in the coursework. A master’s degree is frequently preferred for senior roles.

Data architects offer principles for managing data from its initial collection in source systems through business users’ information consumption.

Your experience may be the most important component of your job application. Top employers probably anticipate that job applicants will have knowledge of application architecture, network administration, and performance management.

How to join a data architect certification program?

Those who want to become data architects might enroll in several informative certification programs offered by Udacity. You may also select the following programs:

• IBM Certified Data Architect – Big Data
• IBM Certified Solution Architect – Cloud Pak for Data v4.x
• IBM Certified Solution Architect – Data Warehouse V1
• Salesforce Certified Data Architecture and Management Designer
• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP)
• Arcitura Certified Big Data Architect
• TOGAF 9 Certification Program

You’ll plan, build, and implement enterprise data infrastructure solutions as well as draft the specifications for a company’s data management system in these data architect certification programs. You’ll develop a scalable data lake architecture that satisfies the requirements of big data, a relational database using PostgreSQL, and an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) data model to establish a cloud-based data warehouse. Finally, you’ll discover how to use the data management system of a business in accordance with the principles of data governance.

How much do data architects earn?

Let’s review the potential pay for a data architect: according to Payscale, the typical salary for a data architect in Europe is 76,165 euros ($80,306) each year. Similar to how US-based businesses frequently pay slightly more for data scientists and engineers: According to Builtin, the starting wage is an average of 143,573 US dollars.

Data architect salary

If you want more information, you may look at the data architect salaries on Glassdoor in-depth. Informatica, Amazon, and Intel are the organizations that pay professional data architects the highest salaries, according to statistics given by Glassdoor.

The differences between “data professionals”

Make sure you are familiar with the various duties of data architects, data scientists, data engineers, and solution architects before applying to one of these open positions.

Data architects vs. data scientists

The data architect is educated in both statistics and software engineering. Conceptualizing and visualizing data frameworks is part of their responsibility. They also offer information and advice on how to handle different data sources from different databases. While data scientist has a background in statistics, their job entails cleaning and analyzing data before using it to produce metrics and provide answers to questions in order to address business issues.

Data scientists are a new breed of analytical data experts with the technical know-how to address complicated issues and the inquisitiveness to investigate what issues are at stake.

Data architects offer a framework for creating and implementing data governance.

They have elements of mathematicians, computer scientists, and trend-spotters. Additionally, they are in high demand and well-paid due to their ability to bridge the IT and business sectors.

Data architects vs. data engineers

Although there are many overlaps between data science and data architecture, the data architect is more of an expert in hardware technologies than the data scientist is in mathematics, statistics, or software technologies. The data architect creates the model-development framework, which also develops data standards and principles and converts business needs into technical specifications. Data scientists use mathematical, statistical, and computer science techniques to create models.

Managing multi-cloud data is like looking for a needle in a haystack

An enterprise data architecture has multiple layers, often starting at the “information delivery layer” and going all the way up to the data-source layer. A complicated data architecture, which encompasses the underlying hardware, operating system, data storage, and data warehouse, may therefore be designed by various experts.

The modern data architect is frequently a multi-skilled professional with knowledge of data warehouses, relational databases, NoSQL, streaming data flows, containers, serverless, and micro-services. Vendors of technology are still waiting for their products to be widely adopted by businesses, despite the fact that newer technologies are appearing on the data-technology landscape every day. Check out our article, “Data is the new gold and the industry demands goldsmiths” if you want to learn more about data engineers.

Data architects vs solution architects

Both data architects and solution architects work in fields that require technological expertise. The ability to leverage their expertise in database design principles to construct effective databases is a requirement for data architects.

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Additionally, they must be able to view the data structures they design using modeling tools. Strong technical abilities are also necessary for solution architects since they must comprehend the inner workings of the systems they are developing and be proficient in a variety of programming languages.

Strong problem-solving abilities are necessary for both solution and data architects. Data architects must be able to recognize problems with current databases and provide solutions to solve those problems. Solution architects must be able to take a project’s needs and create a solution that will satisfy them.

Data architects support privacy and security enforcement with their agile problem-solving capabilities.

While solution architects work with more tangible concepts, data architects often work with abstract concepts. Solution architects must be able to think logically in order to create systems that are effective and efficient, while data architects must be able to think swiftly in order to come up with innovative ways to organize data.

Conclusion

Organizations are guided in the proper direction by the capacity to strengthen and enable every corporate decision-making process through a perceptive data-driven approach. The business is evolving quickly; thus agile, more specialized, and targeted data change management that is supplied in close to real-time has replaced the idea of waiting weeks or months for the pending changes in data architecture to enable the release of new software versions.

The development team is under tremendous stress, and the internal data production floor faces daily obstacles due to the ever-increasing demand for adjustments and modifications to data structures and database schemas.

Data architects create and maintain a company’s database by locating structural and installation solutions. They collaborate with database administrators and analysts to ensure simple access to corporate data. Among the responsibilities are making database solutions, assessing needs, and writing design reports.

The data architect job description has become one of the most sought-after jobs on the internet. Data-related jobs are on the rise in today’s data-driven world. We have already explained cloud computing job requirements and business intelligence analyst skills in these articles. Data science professionals are in high demand. Large and small businesses want to recruit the top talent in the market to assist them in efficiently collecting, processing, and analyzing enormous amounts of data. So, it’s time to show you the data architect job description, their salaries, requirements, and more.

What is the data architect job description?

A data architect is a professional in data architecture, a branch of information technology that focuses on developing, inventing, deploying, and managing an organization’s data architecture. Data architects influence how data is stored, consumed, integrated with other sources of information, and managed by distinct business units and IT systems and any applications that use or process it in some way. It’s one of four enterprise architecture domains alongside business architecture and application development.

The responsibilities of a data architect at this level include laying the groundwork for an organization’s database by coming up with structural and installation options. They collaborate with database administrators and analysts to guarantee that company data is easily accessible. Creating database solutions, assessing needs, and producing design reports are part of the job.

The Data Architect works with management to choose the best data-gathering techniques. Many in this position have a Master’s degree and extensive training in statistics, mathematics, computer science, or a closely related field. You must be detail-oriented and comprehend abstract ideas to do well in this job. Today, data architects must be able to model and predict how changes in how an organization obtains data might affect how it uses that data, as well as map out how data will flow through the many phases of a project.

The data architect is one of the most in-demand professions within data science. Organizations wanting to implement a strong data strategy need a data architect who knows how to work with big databases, analyze and apply machine learning, and utilize programming languages. These businesses also want the data architect to assist them in determining how the information—both structured and unstructured—should be stored and used with other IT systems. According to a Forbes article, over half of all businesses in the world conduct data analysis to obtain operational insights that help them make better decisions. In the next several years, 71 percent of these firms anticipate company investment in data and analytics will speed up.

Are you interested? Let’s examine some sub-job descriptions of this profession.

What is the senior data architect job description?

Senior data architects are in charge of the overall plan for data architecture systems. Their duty is optimizing databases, building ETL solutions, and overseeing automated data flow.

As a senior data architect, you’ll be in charge of using the company’s technology platforms to their full potential and managing cloud and on-premise environments. You’ll also be in charge of verifying data quality.

You’ll be in charge of the company’s data architecture, ensuring it is safe and long-lasting. You will collaborate with other teams on developing various data integration techniques. Your employer will expect you to have significant expertise in data management.

When it comes to being a Senior Data Architect, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Did you know that they make an average of $57.96 per hour? That’s $120,554 per year!

What is the cloud data architect job description?

An IT professional in charge of a company’s cloud computing strategy is known as a cloud architect. This includes policies for adopting clouds, cloud application design, and the oversight and monitoring of cloud operations. Cloud architects are responsible for architecture and deployment in cloud environments, including public clouds, private clouds, and hybrid Clouds. They also provide consultancy to their companies and must stay informed on current trends and concerns. Companies that employ cloud architects either use cloud services or intend to migrate to the internet.

Architects are responsible for providing project management, architecture, and technical guidance to the cloud architect team. They may also be engaged in legal issues surrounding cloud computing, managing contracts, and contacting legal and procurement teams. Architects ensure that service level agreements are fulfilled.

According to Payscale’s salary research for 2022, cloud architects may expect base pay ranging from $80,000 to $167,000 per year, depending on various criteria such as education, location, skills, and experience. According to Payscale, the average pay for a cloud architect is $128,418.

Data architect roles and responsibilities

According to DAMA International’s Data Management Body of Knowledge, a Data Architect “provides common business language and strategic requirements, develops high-level integrated designs to meet those requirements, and aligns with company strategy and associated business architecture.”

A data architect is a professional who designs, develops, and maintains an integrated framework of easily accessible, secure data consistent with company strategy. The data architect also defines the processes for testing and maintaining the database.

The responsibilities of a data architect are numerous, including research, design, evaluation, integration, deployment, monitoring, and collaboration. The following are some of the duties of a data architect:

• Collaborate with management and IT staff to create a data strategy that meets corporate demands and industry standards.
• Establish a data architecture from the ground up by creating an inventory of all the data needed to develop and implement it.
• Consider how data might move throughout the organization.
• Maintain a data architecture repository that includes all of the procedures and artifacts.
• Determine what additional data management technologies are required based on current systems and resources.
• Examine what improvements and updates are required for the current data infrastructure.
• Create, design, document, and deploy database systems and applications.
• Manage data in a cloud-based environment. Create database models, analytics, and AI applications from scratch.
• Ensure that guidance is available to staff on developing and enforcing data development standards.
• Manage multiple systems and functions, including security, performance, scalability, reliability, and data recovery.
• Use your gathered data to develop new leads and methods for gathering information.
• Ensure that data is accurate, intact, and accessible.
• Maintain a data management system that is continually tested, modified, and reported.

You may be asking if it’s the same as a data engineer. However, don’t let these responsibilities mislead and confuse you. The titles Data Architect and Data Engineer are frequently conflated, and even worse, they are sometimes employed interchangeably. However, the work of a Data Architect differs significantly from that of a Data Engineer.

Comparison: Data architect vs data engineer

The data architect and data engineer ranks are frequently conflated, which causes them to be interchangeable. The defining distinction between both positions is their major responsibilities.

• The data architect is in charge of developing the organization’s data framework’s vision and blueprint, whereas the data engineer takes care of making it a reality.
• Data architects assist data teams in bringing business needs to live by providing technical know-how and assistance; data engineers ensure that data is readily available, secure, and accessible to stakeholders when they need it (data scientists, data analysts).

• Data architects have significant data modeling, integration, and design expertise and a good understanding of other data tasks. Data engineers are highly skilled in programming but lack software engineering experience.
• The data architect and the data engineer collaborate to construct the company’s data infrastructure.

How to become a data architect?

Formal education, internships, certifications, and relevant work experience are all important aspects of a data architect’s qualifications to get a job and advance their profession.

• Bachelor’s degree: A bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, computer science, IT, or a closely related discipline is required for individuals looking to work as data architects. Many businesses demand that potential senior data architect candidates have a master’s degree in data science or computer science.
• Work as an IT intern: Because the data architect isn’t a beginner job, anyone interested in pursuing it should have as much IT knowledge as possible.
• Entry-level IT experience: Individuals will generally require at least three to five years of experience in an entry-level IT field like programming or database administration before becoming a data architect.
• Secure a job as a data architect: A data architect may work for various organizations in various sectors that handle huge amounts of client data.
• Certification: The IBM Certified Data Architect–Big Data, Salesforce Certified Data Architecture and Management Designer, and Institute for Certified Computing Professionals’ Certified Data Management Professionals are some certifications available to data architects.

Must-have data architect skills

The following are a few of the most important data architect abilities:

• Knowledge of project management techniques, process management systems, and requirements gathering methods is required.
• Data modeling and design, as well as SQL development and database administration, must be fulfilled.
• Data is the perfect fit for companies looking to embrace AI into their business but don’t know where to start. Machine learning, NLP and text analysis, and predictive modeling are necessary skillsets.
• The ability to use commonly used data management and reporting technologies is required, as well as the fundamentals of columnar and NoSQL databases, data visualization, unstructured data, data mining, and predictive analytics.
• Python, C/C++, Java, and Perl programming languages are required.

So, is it worth it?

What is the average data architect salary?

According to ZipRecruiter, the median salary for enterprise data architects in the United States was $132,617 per year as of September 2021, ranging from a low of $36,500 to a high of $190,500. IT data architect ($142,869), platform architect ($140,000), data architecture director (£125k), and cloud business architect (£130k) were among the best-paying jobs.