In general, this book explores the role of a solution architect in a more generic way. Still, you often see solution architects with different titles, as per the organization's structure, for example, enterprise solution architect, software architect, or technical architect. In this section, you will find some distinct attributes related to the various titles. However, the responsibilities of the solution architect overlap, depending on an organization's structure.
If you wish to know how a solution should be organized and delivered, then a solution architect plays an essential role in this context. A solution architect designs the overall system and how different systems integrate across different groups. A solution architect defines the expected outcome by working with business stakeholders and providing a clear understanding of the delivery objective on the part of the technical team.
The solution architect connects the dots across the organization and ensures consistency within different teams to avoid any last-minute surprises. The solution architect engages throughout the project life cycle and also defines monitoring and alerting mechanisms to ensure smooth operations after a product's launch. The solution architect also plays an essential role in project management by providing advice regarding resource, cost, and timeline estimation.
Overall, the solution architect gets to engage on a more tactical level compared to the enterprise architect. Sometimes, the solution architect takes on the role of an enterprise architect if a more strategic involvement is required.