Once upon a time in the world of information technology, the only solution for establishing an enterprise computing strategy involved the use of mainframe hardware. One mainframe system stood next to a warehouse full of paper forms. Only the mainframe code and a handful of other computing systems contributed to an IT platform. Moving forward to the third decade of the 21st century, cloud computing has emerged as a dominant force in how organizations operate their IT platforms. Although cloud computing has optimized the speed and flexibility organizations have to retrieve and share digital information, there still is a need to simplify complex IT platforms to enhance customer experiences.

Enter into the conversation the IT professional called an enterprise architect.

What is an Enterprise Architect?

The short answer to the question, “What is an enterprise architect” refers to the role of an IT professional to act as the business and technology architect of an organization’s entire IT platform. In other words, an enterprise architect is responsible for maintaining the high-performance levels of different IT systems. The best practices adopted by an enterprise architect include combining the technical skills of a computer software engineer with the business expertise of an upper-level manager. An enterprise architect must be able to balance the concerns presented by the IT department with the concerns presented by the business management side of an organization’s operation.

Discovering balance means considering business outcomes as opposed to technological advances. The key is to avoid the concept called technical debt.

Look at an enterprise architect as a professional who acts as a broker to ensure both business and IT leaders buy into an infrastructural approach to encouraging digital change. An enterprise architect verifies that an organization follows every interoperability standard and protocol, as well as analyzes the annual IT budget to make sure it aligns with the approved strategy for building an IT infrastructure. An organization that creates the position of enterprise architect wants to establish a governance council that the enterprise architect monitors to develop successful IT strategies. Finally, an enterprise architect ensures the organization implements a cloud-first approach to building a company-wide digital platform.

What Does an Enterprise Architect Do?

Specifically, an enterprise architect must assume several responsibilities that align both IT and business concerns. One of the most important duties of an enterprise architect involves developing long-term strategies to achieve optimal operational performance. This requires the creation of budgets and program governance rules to ensure the strategies meet their respective goals. An enterprise architect is responsible for updating applications on a regular basis, which means every application must not be outdated by no more than the last two major versions. If an application falls behind by more than two versions, the enterprise architect of an organization invests the financial and human resources required to update the application to the latest adaptation. Another important role is to make all IT systems accessible for mobile devices, which includes all internal and external web applications. The applications must run flawlessly on devices such as iOS and Android.

What is the Salary of an Enterprise Architect?

Working in the enterprise architecture niche of the IT industry results in a lucrative compensation package. According to PayScale, the average salary for enterprise architects sits at a little more than $131,000 per year. Depending on experience and the level of certifiable expertise, an enterprise architect earns between $93,000 and $168,000 annually. Entry-level enterprise architects receive a starting salary of $82,000 a year.

The highest-paid enterprise architects live in Seattle, which compensates EAs at a rate that is 17 percent higher than the national average. New York City and Atlanta represent the next two cities where EAs receive the highest value of compensation.

What is an Enterprise Architect Certification?

Enterprise architects have several certification options to increase their level of expertise. For example, the Open Group offers a TOGAF certification, which teaches one of the most popular EA frameworks used by businesses. An EA also can boost career credentials by obtaining certification for a certain tool such as Salesforce or Google Professional Cloud. Enterprise architects in search of ways to enhance already acquired technical skills have several options to choose from that do not require as much of a time investment as a more comprehensive EA certification course.

A few of the most popular certifications for enterprise architects include the Red Hat Certified Architect, the AWS Certified Solution Architect, and the CISSP Information Systems Security Architecture Professional.

The Bottom Line: Look for Certain Qualifications

Attracting a qualified EA is not an easy goal to accomplish. Your organization should hire an enterprise architect who has a proven record of success balancing IT and business goals. EAs should be able to share insight and vision to mobilize support for different initiatives. They must possess comprehensive technical skills and knowledge, as well as know how to promote technology strategies by exhibiting the type of leadership skills found in C-Suite executives. Although most EAs come from technical backgrounds, they have to be able to identify business needs. Finally, soft skills like being able to motivate different personalities play just as important of a role as technical skills do in defining a successful enterprise architect.

If you need help finding qualified Enterprise Architects, leverage the IT Executives Council Career Center. Our career center allows you to post your open jobs in front of the most qualified group of IT professionals and put them directly in their inboxes with the exclusive Job Flash email. Find the most qualified Enterprise Architects to take your company to the next level. Visit the career center today!