Most CVs titled Solution Architect are really Cloud and Infrastructure Architects. This helps you tell them apart.
Around 70% of CVs with Solution Architect as the title should carry some form of infrastructure architecture label instead.
If you are unsure, go and look at their work history. What path did they take into architecture? If they came in from infrastructure analysis, and their CV lists technologies such as Wintel, Active Directory, VMware, Exchange and SAN storage, their core expertise lies on the infrastructure side, and that is where they should be classified.
Also seen as: Head of Infrastructure Architecture, Enterprise Technology Architect
The Enterprise Infrastructure Architect sets the strategy, roadmaps and blueprints for the organisation’s infrastructure as a whole: hosting, cloud, network, end user and resilience. They may reach into other areas, but their deep expertise is infrastructure.
Look for a target technology architecture, infrastructure strategy and principles, and hosting and cloud strategy decisions. Data centre exit and consolidation programmes are common. You should also see the standards they set, and evidence that the estate evolved within them.
At first glance, they look very similar to an Enterprise Architect. Look at the background, though, and all you really see is infrastructure technology. Go back far enough and they were an Infrastructure Architect. They can be excellent at setting infrastructure direction, but they are not the person to align technology with business strategy across the whole organisation.
Also seen as: Hybrid Infrastructure Architect, Data Centre Architect, Technical Architect
The Infrastructure Architect designs the compute, storage, virtualisation, backup and resilience that everything else runs on. More and more, the job is hybrid: some workloads stay on premises, some move to the cloud, and the design has to make the two work together.
Look for VMware, Nutanix or Azure Local, and storage and backup platforms such as NetApp, Pure Storage, Veeam or Commvault. You should also see Windows and Linux server estates, disaster recovery design, and hybrid connectivity to Azure or AWS. Recent changes to VMware’s licensing mean that many will now have worked on migrating away from it or reviewing it.
Infrastructure Architects often carry Solution Architect or Technical Architect as their job title. If the technologies are almost all infrastructure, that is what they are.
Also seen as: Cloud Architect, Cloud Platform Architect, Azure Architect, AWS Architect
The Cloud Infrastructure Architect builds the foundations that everything in the cloud sits on: landing zones, networking, identity, security guardrails, policy and cost controls. Everything they design should be repeatable, which means infrastructure as code.
Look for landing zones on Azure, AWS or Google Cloud, and hub and spoke networking. You should also see Entra ID or AWS IAM, policy and governance, Terraform or Bicep, and FinOps or cost management. A real Cloud Infrastructure Architect has very strong IaaS and PaaS experience.
There are two traps. First, some people claim cloud experience when all they have is SaaS; Microsoft 365 on a CV does not make someone a Cloud Architect. Second, they carry exactly the same title as the Cloud Solution Architect, who designs the applications that sit on top of the foundations. Ask what they would do on their first day. The Cloud Infrastructure Architect will talk about the landing zone.
Also seen as: Senior Network Architect, WAN Architect, Network Design Architect
The Network Architect is a very specialist role. They design the LAN, WAN, wireless, data centre and cloud networking that connects the organisation, and increasingly the security that is built into it.
Look for Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Aruba or Fortinet, and SD-WAN and SASE platforms such as Zscaler, Palo Alto Prisma or Cisco Meraki. You should also see cloud networking in Azure and AWS, and routing protocols such as BGP and OSPF, usually backed by certifications such as CCIE.
There is some crossover with infrastructure and security, but Network Architects tend to stay in networks for most of their career. Be wary of a CV that lists every network vendor and protocol but shows no design decisions. That is usually a very senior network engineer.
Also seen as: Head of Network Architecture, Global Network Architect
The Enterprise Network Architect defines the overall vision, strategy and roadmap for the organisation’s network. They often work closely with outsourced delivery partners and carriers.
They will have all the same technical skills as a Network Architect. Alongside those, look for ownership of a global network roadmap, portfolio and budget planning, reference architectures, technical governance, and management of carrier and managed service contracts.
The difference is the big picture. A Network Architect designs the network. An Enterprise Network Architect decides what the network needs to become and funds it. If there is no strategy or budget ownership anywhere in the CV, they are a Network Architect.
Also seen as: End User Computing (EUC) Architect, Modern Workplace Architect, Desktop Architect
Read our insight: Defining your Digital Workplace
The Digital Workplace Architect designs how people get to their applications and work together: devices, identity, collaboration, and virtual desktops. It used to be called End User Computing, and before that, Desktop Architecture.
Look for Microsoft 365, Intune, Entra ID and Windows Autopilot. You should also see Teams and SharePoint as collaboration platforms, Azure Virtual Desktop, Citrix or Windows 365, and device management across Windows, macOS and mobile. Increasingly, rolling out Microsoft Copilot and governing it appears too.
Cloud Architects and Digital Workplace Architects will both have Microsoft 365 on their CV. But Microsoft 365 is SaaS, and the skills are much more about the workplace than the cloud platform. If most of their cloud experience is Microsoft 365, they are a Digital Workplace Architect.
If you are hiring for an infrastructure or cloud role and are not sure which of these you actually need, please get in touch. It is surprisingly common for the job description to describe one of these roles while the job title asks for another.
Ben Clark
bclark@konvergent.co.uk
