The primary role of the architect is to provide solutions that meet customer requirements. At times, this can be difficult since the architect may not always be part of the complete sales process. Many times customers may purchase hardware from other vendors and look to us to help them "make it all work". In situations such as this, the purchased hardware becomes a constraint on the design. Identifying and dealing with constraints and other design factors will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 2, The Discovery Process, and Chapter 3, The Design Factors.

The architect must also be able to identify requirements, both business and technical, by conducting stakeholder interviews and analyzing current configurations. Once the requirements have been identified, the architect must then map the requirements into a solution by creating a design. This design is then presented to the stakeholders, and if approved, it is implemented. During the implementation phase, the architect ensures that configurations are done to meet the design requirements and the work done stays within the scope of the design.

The architect must also understand best practice. Not just best practice for configuring the hypervisor, but for management, storage, security, and networking. Understanding best practice is the key. The architect not only knows best practice but understands why it is considered best practice. It is also important to understand when to deviate from what is considered best practice.

The large part of an architect's work is "customer facing". This includes conducting interviews with stakeholders to identify requirements and ultimately presenting the design to decision makers. Besides creating a solid solution to match the customer's requirements, it is important that the architect gains and maintains the trust of the project stakeholders. A professional appearance and, more importantly, a professional attitude are both helpful in building this relationship.