IT’s data framework visionary
Data architects visualize and design an organization’s enterprise data management framework, aligned with enterprise strategy and business architecture.
Data architects are senior visionaries who translate business requirements into technology requirements and define data standards and principles. The data architect is responsible for visualizing and designing an organization’s enterprise data management framework. This framework describes the processes used to plan, specify, enable, create, acquire, maintain, use, archive, retrieve, control, and purge data. The data architect also “provides a standard common business vocabulary, expresses strategic requirements, outlines high-level integrated designs to meet those requirements, and aligns with enterprise strategy and related business architecture,” according to DAMA International’s Data Management Body of Knowledge.
Data architect responsibilities
- Translating business requirements into technical specifications, including data streams, integrations, transformations, databases, and data warehouses
- Defining the data architecture framework, standards, and principles, including modeling, metadata, security, reference data such as product codes and client categories, and master data such as clients, vendors, materials, and employees
- Defining reference architecture, which is a pattern others can follow to create and improve data systems
- Defining data flows, i.e., which parts of the organization generate data, which require data to function, how data flows are managed, and how data changes in transition
- Collaborating and coordinating with multiple departments, stakeholders, partners, and external vendor
Data architect skills
Data architects require math and computer science proficiency, data management skills, and the ability to analyze and present statistical information.
- A foundation in systems development: Data architects must understand the system development life cycle, project management approaches, and requirements, design, and test techniques.
- Data modeling and design: This is the core skill of the data architect and the most requested skill in data architect job descriptions, according to Lambert, who notes that this often includes SQL development and database administration.
- Established and emerging data technologies: Data architects need to understand established data management and reporting technologies, and have some knowledge of columnar and NoSQL databases, predictive analytics, data visualization, and unstructured data.
- Communication and political savvy: Data architects need people skills. They must be articulate, persuasive, and good salespeople, Lambert says, and they must conceive and portray the big data picture to others.