Very good article - very clear and well structured! Thank you! To the point about Data Architects not engaging enough with the Business Stakeholders and not being able to develop business understanding and strategic vision - it is often that organisations do not invite their Data Architects to the business discussions and/or strategic planning session: they are considered like "technical", "IT" or "data" guys. Often the business stakeholder will raise their eyebrows when Data Architect sets up a session call to pass with them through their business needs and priorities + upcoming changes... and often they reject those sessions; Thus, a cultural change is definitely required within most of the businesses. PS: definitely will re-use your house-city metaphor :)
I completely agree. I think the role of Data Architect to be embedded in business processes should increase/ improve with more AI development as architecture will be key to enable business AI. Don't worry, not blaming the architect, it usually comes down to a poor org structure
Great article! I like your house-city analogy and will likely borrow it. One thing I did not see in your data architecture responsibilities is training. Where do you see data and AI awareness creation, specific data system trainings, etc.? Is there a part for data architecture, are they even in the driver seat?
Thanks Alexander! Training is so important, but it isn't just important for data architecture, it is important for everything. I think data architecture can be in the drivers seat of the technology architecture that enables AI, but it is hard to be for the overall initiative. This plus the training may fit in with change management or transformation teams supported by a the technical architects or analysts
I’ve written a previous two articles on data platforms. It’s more of a tech focus, where as data architecture is how it all stitches together and how the data flows. They are interdependent. Data strategy helps you translate your business goals into data tasks/ activities, so it informs the platform and architecture
I would recommend TOGAF for a certification but this is a pretty intense process (if your employer would sponsor it all the better). The DAMA-DMBoK book is a great resource, I've used it for this article and many others because it is basically a textbook on all things data!
Very good article - very clear and well structured! Thank you! To the point about Data Architects not engaging enough with the Business Stakeholders and not being able to develop business understanding and strategic vision - it is often that organisations do not invite their Data Architects to the business discussions and/or strategic planning session: they are considered like "technical", "IT" or "data" guys. Often the business stakeholder will raise their eyebrows when Data Architect sets up a session call to pass with them through their business needs and priorities + upcoming changes... and often they reject those sessions; Thus, a cultural change is definitely required within most of the businesses. PS: definitely will re-use your house-city metaphor :)
I completely agree. I think the role of Data Architect to be embedded in business processes should increase/ improve with more AI development as architecture will be key to enable business AI. Don't worry, not blaming the architect, it usually comes down to a poor org structure
Great article! I like your house-city analogy and will likely borrow it. One thing I did not see in your data architecture responsibilities is training. Where do you see data and AI awareness creation, specific data system trainings, etc.? Is there a part for data architecture, are they even in the driver seat?
Thanks Alexander! Training is so important, but it isn't just important for data architecture, it is important for everything. I think data architecture can be in the drivers seat of the technology architecture that enables AI, but it is hard to be for the overall initiative. This plus the training may fit in with change management or transformation teams supported by a the technical architects or analysts
great article
Great article, Dilan! I like how well you structured different stages.
Thanks Yordan! Glad it was helpful :)
What is the difference of data architecture and data platform? What about data strategy?
I’ve written a previous two articles on data platforms. It’s more of a tech focus, where as data architecture is how it all stitches together and how the data flows. They are interdependent. Data strategy helps you translate your business goals into data tasks/ activities, so it informs the platform and architecture
Where to learn the foundations of data architecture? Any certification and/or recommended readings?
I would recommend TOGAF for a certification but this is a pretty intense process (if your employer would sponsor it all the better). The DAMA-DMBoK book is a great resource, I've used it for this article and many others because it is basically a textbook on all things data!