Understand IT Architecture as a business strategy
The IT architecture plays a strategic role in the development of organizational functions. It is through it that the company will define how to employ the technology assets.
“In the future, every company will be about technology.” Well, that future has arrived. And within a business equation in which technology departments are increasingly strategic, the IT architecture acts as a fundamental variable.
Nowadays, it is unthinkable for a company to consider offering innovative and value-added solutions to the market without a well-consolidated IT infrastructure – be it internal or external.
In this post, you will understand what IT architecture is, its advantages, and how to build an efficient IT infrastructure, so keep reading!
What is IT architecture?
The IT architecture is an area of IT responsible for analyzing the business needs and the space of a company’s facilities to strategically plan and structure the allocation and distribution of technological assets.
In other words, the primary function of the IT architecture is to think about what IT resources the company needs to ensure excellent business performance – and how they will be applied in the day-to-day life of the organization. It is also up to it to monitor whether the existing technological solutions meet the teams’ needs.
A good IT architecture should always derive from its global strategy, always considering the priorities and business continuity to ensure the alignment between the company’s needs and the IT actions.
There are some types of IT architecture. Check out the best-known below!
Centralized architecture
Architectural model in which a data center supports the entire technological infrastructure.
Decentralized architecture
In decentralized architecture, the processing is distributed across multiple computers, servers, and devices.
Service-oriented architecture (SOA)
The software architecture model works in the logic of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), known for its modular structures and focused on reusing components to accelerate new solutions.
Peer-to-peer
Decentralized architecture form, in which several computers can share resources and validate operations without the need for a central server. Blockchain is an example of peer-to-peer architecture.
BYOD
The acronym stands for “Bring Your Own Device” and represents the tendency for employees to use technological resources and personal equipment to connect to the company’s systems.
Cloud
It has been serving as the driving force behind digitalization by promoting the replacement of physical storage spaces in organizations by offering storage in the cloud.
Some more recent types of architecture derive from cloud computing, such as distributed cloud, and intermediate structures such as fog computing.
What are the functions of an IT architect?
The terminology “IT architect” encompasses a series of activities related to Information Technology, which are not necessarily carried out by the same professional.
In general, the IT architect will define how an organization’s IT assets are allocated or distributed. For this, it is up to the IT architect to analyze the environment and the needs of companies to deliver optimized performance solutions.
In addition, it must monitor whether IT applications are meeting organizational productivity requirements, diagnose possible operating limitations and identify opportunities for improvement.
Some activities that are part of the work of an IT architect are:
- Plan infrastructure architectures suitable for the business
- Dealing with systems already in place and integrating them with new technologies
- Implement a new storage system
- Ensure responsible handling of data in the organization
- Implement and manage efficient and innovative solutions
- Provide physical, virtual networks, routers, firewalls, and servers.
And what is the profile that this professional should have?
The IT architecture area requires its professionals to be constantly updated. In addition to providing support for the primary organizational activities, architects in a genuinely strategic IT sector must also be aware of productivity and energy efficiency attributes.
In addition to always being connected to trends, these professionals must also have a proactive and creative profile, seeking possibilities for improvement and identifying the best assets in the market to leverage productivity with the stipulated IT budget.
As you can see, this activity is strategic to make work in the organization feasible. So, if you need an architect to strengthen your team and help modernize your IT, keep an eye on these characteristics.
What is the difference between architecture and IT infrastructure?
As you have seen, IT architecture is a process that analyzes the organizational ecosystem and the needs of the business to distribute technological resources properly.
The management of the IT infrastructure is a set of management practices of the professionals and processes involved, which will guarantee the smooth functioning of the IT activity.
These activities include:
- the division of tasks in the teams
- the monitoring of resources and systems
- data protection and cybersecurity issues
- management of IT contracts
By knowing this information, it is possible to create a linear flow of strategic definitions:
IT Strategy >>> IT Architecture >>> IT Infrastructure >>> Processes
With the pandemic, digitization has become the only option. Therefore, the need to invest in infrastructure to enable businesses to operate remotely and, at times, 100% digital is increasingly greater- a structure that is costly and complex.
Therefore, it is up to the IT architecture to think about the new form of digital work to distribute technological resources better and manage infrastructure, ensuring that resources are used with maximum efficiency.
What are the benefits of IT architecture?
A well-designed IT architecture strategy must be reliable and consistently seek to boost its performance through optimized and scalable solutions.
With these characteristics, it is clear that this work has very positive consequences for organizations. Check out 4 benefits of IT architecture below!
1. Improvement in the distribution of resources
One of the IT architecture goals is to achieve a more strategic distribution and disposition of technology inputs within the organization. Through the detailed mapping of available resources, it is possible to know where there is more or less need for investments and reallocate resources more intelligently and efficiently.
2. Systems continuity plan
Present in 9 out of 10 articles on IT architecture is the guarantee of the availability of the systems. And when we talk about it, we are essentially talking about business continuity. In other words, a plan to ensure that the company’s technological apparatus works 24/7.
Therefore, an IT architecture strategy ensures the availability of the systems, applications, and software used and assists in creating a continuity plan for these resources with IT governance personnel, taking into account attributes such as information security and other vulnerabilities.
3.Performance improvement
Through a good architecture, the IT sector can monitor and optimize technological inputs more standardized, automated, and efficient, playing an important role in the organization’s productivity.
4.Alignment with business objectives
The process of structuring an organization’s IT resources is very strategic. For this reason, the main gain of this architecture may be the convergence of the Information Technology area with business objectives.
Good architecture doesn’t exist without good IT governance.
If you’ve made it to the end of this article, it’s probably because you know that technology is increasingly taking on the role of driving business results. More specifically, IT departments are taking on the role of strategically directing actions towards this.
In this context, the tendency is to see a significant increase in companies’ degree of IT maturity, while companies are gradually seeking an efficient integration between architecture and IT infrastructure.
Do you want to guarantee adequate solutions to build? Invest in good planning of your IT architecture and ensure the necessary technological infrastructure and aligned with the objectives and goals of the company.
