What is Salesforce Architect? You might heard this word everyday in Salesforce echo-system. Check our ultimate guide to learn about how to become a Salesforce Architect, skills needed for architect, day to day activities and different type of Architect.
What is Salesforce Architect?
Salesforce Architect one one who helped to design and deliver the solution to enterprise customers. The primary role and responsibility of architect is recommend Best practices to meet business requirement, provide high level solution and artifacts, communicate with business stakeholders.
Salesforce Architect Salary?
How much a architect earn. Here is average Architect Salary.
Check Salesforce Salary guide to learn more.
Skills needed to become a Architect
Here are some skill a architect must have.
- Solution: Architect should have a solid understanding of the architectural principles of cloud-based platforms, including SaaS, PaaS.
- Communication: Communicate design overviews to executive/business and technical audiences.
- Integration Patterns: They must have a good understanding of Salesforce Integration.
- DevOps: Experience with release management, source control, and deployment technologies such as CI/CD pipelines, Metadata API, Salesforce DevOps, and integration services.
- Multiple Cloud Architecture: Ensure timely delivery of fully functional software for users with multiple cloud architecture.
How to become a Salesforce Architect
Are you a Salesforce Developer? Want to become a Architect? Check out our old post on Salesforce Developer to Architect. Architect mindset is every much import to become a Architect.
- Think Strategically: Think N numbers of steps in advance, think about how the situation could evolve, how levers could change
- Communicate Effectively: A good architect not only knows the solution well but can explain it to different audiences as well.
- See the big picture: The Architect always has an eye on the BIG PICTURE. He forced on Plans, designs and reviews the construction of enterprise software, primarily cloud focused, and Salesforce related.
Check our Salesforce Architect career path guide.
What does a Salesforce Architect do?
Let see what Architect do. Here is role and responsibility of Salesforce Architect
- Build Solution Design: They helps the development team to properly estimate stories without inferring or discussing what features would look like during the estimation session. Architect is one who is responsible to deliver the high level and low level solution to different business stakeholders.
- High level solution: Architect is responsible for High level Solution Diagram and building Artifacts from business requirement. Which contain the System landscape, data model, Integration pattern and data migration strategy.
- Low level Solution: Architect is also responsible to deliver the low level design document which should contain the System Sequence Diagrams and technical specifications.
- Communicate with stakeholders: A architect communicate with business stakeholders to get the requirements and Communicate design overviews to executive/business and technical audiences.
- Deliver Solution: Architects are also recommend the Salesforce best practices to Developer while implementing solution.
- Build POC: Architects also become part of Pre-Sales and help to response to RFE and RFO. For that they prepare POC and demo for clients.
Types of Salesforce Architect
So far we understand which all hats Architects wears. What about one person do all this jobs? Simple answers is no. There are different types of Salesforce Architects. Here is one list we compiled.
- Solution Architect
- Functional Architect
- Integration Architect
- Technical Architect
- Data Architect
- Enterprise Architect
Let look into each Architects roles and responsibilities.
1. Solution Architect (SA)
Solution Architect (SA) is an individual who is responsible to transformation of requirements into a design. SA should have understand the multi-Cloud Architecture. Core of Solution Architect is balance between technical, business and delivery leadership.
Check how to become a Salesforce Solution Architect.
2. Functional Architect
A Salesforce functional architects designs application systems to streamline business processes and meet the needs of a business. They are responsible for collaborating with managers to establish product design, development, and sales projections. Functional architects should have well-developed skills in business, system analysis, and product management.
3. Integration Architect (IA)
Integration Architect play a very important role in any organization to digital transformation. They are responsible for Inbound API call from backend to Salesforce via Proxy to Integration Microservice. They are responsible to setup the middleware integration like ESB and ETL system.
Learn How to pass Salesforce Certified Integration Architecture Designer Exam.
4. Technical Architect (TA)
TA is Leads the technical design and shares architecture vision for the workstream capabilities while ensuring it fits with the overall program architecture. They also Determines systems, interfaces, integrations, and dependencies. TA Provides technical architecture guidance in the high level solution design to Solution Architect. TA also define the Environment Strategy for salesforce.
4.1 Build Architect
Some time we also use one term called Build Architect. Build Architect is responsible for development activity from offshore. In short you can call them Salesforce Technical lead. Who put the tech spec on user stories for developers.
4.2 Program Architecture
The Program Architect is responsible for manage, maintain and implement salesforce solution architecture. They are senior leaders who define the strategy, facilitating and delivering large and complex project in multimillion-dollar IT projects.
5. Data Architect (DA)
Data architect (DA) is responsible for finding solutions around data management. Large amount of data can be a big problem; if proper decisions are not taken around data.
6. Enterprise Architect (EA)
Enterprise Architect (EA) take care of whole enterprise, as name suggests. EA is concerned with the whole set of life-cycle disciplines, and every employed or prospective implementation technology.
Enterprise Architecture is the combination of Business and Technical Architecture to create a full picture of the Enterprise and a roadmap to meet their goals. Learn more about Salesforce Enterprise Architecture it include all below points.
- Business Strategy
- Customer Lifecycle
- Capability Map & Gap
- Current State
- Future State Vision
- Strategic Roadmap
- Business Value Assessment
Salesforce Architect Certification
I hope of this point we understand what is Salesforce Architect and different types of architect in Salesforce careers. Now what about certification? Yes Salesforce also offer certification for different Architects levels
1. Application Architect
The Salesforce Application Architect has a deep understanding of native Salesforce features and functionality, as well as the ability to model a role hierarchy, data model, and appropriate sharing mechanisms. You need to complete all below certificate to become a application Architect.
- Data Architect
- Sharing and Visibility Architect
- Platform Developer 1
- Platform App Builder
2. System Architect
System Architects focus on off-platform systems, integration, securing access between systems as well as managing governance and testing capabilities for deployment and ongoing Salesforce modification requirements.
You need to complete all below certificate to become a application Architect.
- Development lifecycle and deployment architect
- Identity and access management Architect
- Integration Archtect
- Platform Developer 1
3. B2C Solution Architect
The Salesforce B2C Solution Architect designs multi-cloud solutions on the Salesforce Platform that power personalized, frictionless customer experiences.
4. B2B Solution Architect
The Salesforce B2B Solution Architect builds multi-cloud B2B solutions on the Salesforce Platform that deliver business value for the customer.
5. Salesforce Technical Architect (CTA)
The Salesforce Technical Architect possesses broad knowledge across multiple development platforms and draws on their skills and experience to assess customer requirements and architecture in order to design secure, high-performance technical solutions that maximize the potential of the Salesforce platform.
Become a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect (CTA).
