NZ Architecture Market Update

Architecture Market Pulse Update

Earlier today I looked over my “architecture pulse” article from June 2021 and thought it worthwhile giving a rundown of where I see the architecture market today compared to 2 years ago.

I thought this time I would break it down to domains to give you a bit of insight. This is most certainly not scientific but it’s a bit of a summary of where I think each architecture domain is at.

As with anything I do not know everything, in fact if you ask my friends and family, they will probably tell you I don’t know much at all. Take this as a light-hearted summary of things.

Enterprise Architecture

Most EA’s in the current market are permanent. The EA contracting role have dried up and organisations are starting to put their foot down. Companies are now (thankfully) wanting their EA’s to be more than just senior technology architects. They want them to understand the business architecture landscape and have an appreciation for business capability models.

There has been a shift from a few organisations to start to create almost two practices. Where the EA practice isn’t aligned or funded by any specific programme. Instead the EA practice is operating at the contextual level creating / developing the architecture principals alongside the creation the business and technology strategies. It’s interesting to see, but the concern across many that I have spoken to is that these two practices could become disjointed. So, if you find yourself in this space stay close to the business and others.

Business Architecture

Ah business architecture, the discipline that should be so much more popular than it is. I dare say 50% of the business architects I speak to are titled as Business Analysts but are doing a business architecture role in disguise. They are often brought into a specific programme but shortly after can portray their real benefit and progress into something else.

There are many organisations who want to create some form of business architecture practice in the coming 12-18 months. If you are a BA with the right mindset or business architect, the world is looking good.

Solution Architecture

The SA space is a contractor’s world, and it shows no sign of changing. Many organisations are now embracing this. As SA’s tend to operate on a project to project basis the idea of bringing in a specialist for a defined period of time is becoming more enticing.

If you are a true SA (not just a senior application architect) then you are likely finding yourself in a good position right now. There is no shortage of work coming your way. With an impending recession there is a feeling that this might become tough. I personally don’t see it, there might be a movement towards more permanent roles for 12-18 months, but there wont be a shortage of work out there for you.

Application Architecture

This is where I think a large proportion of architects sit. I have seen countless amounts of architects who have gone from Senior Developer to Solution Architect. That just doesn’t make sense to me. The natural progression is from Senior Developer -> Application Architect -> solution architect. Although if you are one of those who has skipped the application architecture phase, good on you, your probably doing what you really enjoy staying close to the tech whilst also taking home a good pay check.

Cloud Architecture

It’s been a dream run for cloud architects and that run shows no signs of slowing down. More organisations are jumping into cloud. With AWS and Azure moving here in the coming years this will add even more need in the cloud space.

Where there is a gap though is the cloud agnostic architects. There are many out there who are aligned to a specific cloud provider (AWS / Azure not so much GCP), but few that can look at things with an agnostic lens on things. What orgs want is someone who can help them make a decision on which cloud offering to take. The ability to do this will hold you in very good stead. In saying that if you enjoy working purely in the AWS or Azure space you are also doing incredibly well.

Integration Architecture

Integration architects are having a similar run to cloud architects. Most organisations that have architects are now realising they don’t need to build out their own bespoke systems. Instead, they can get COTS products. Based on that, the integration space is doing really well. There seems to be a trend towards the continuous flow of data through event streaming and away from monoliths. The integration space has a natural fit between the application and data domains with many integration architects also wearing a data architecture hat where necessary.

Data Architecture

I wrote an blog a few years ago about data becoming more relevant as organisations completed their cloud migration programmes. I’m sad to say I haven’t seen the uptick in the data space as I would have liked. It’s a slow-moving beast, if you are in the data space, get away from talking about data. The business stakeholders you are engaging with want to know about how data can benefit them, not the intricacies of the data landscape. This is a big downfall of most people in the data space.

Data architects are also feeling pretty good now. This is one of the biggest growing markets I have seen and some of the most in demand skills.

Security Architecture

Whenever I discuss security architecture to anyone not in the security space I get a variation of scrunched up faces or eye rolling. What most people think is security architects are blockers and slow everything down (sound familiar? It’s what most architects were seen to be for many years). If you are in the security space I implore you to engage the business, get them to understand why you are doing what you are doing, bring them on that journey. That massive barrier that you put up is not helping others perception of you.

Infrastructure / Network Architects

Traditional infrastructure architects are finding things slightly tough now. With most organisations doing some sort of cloud transformation, generally towards a public cloud offering, the infra-architects are finding themselves getting slightly left behind. There will always be a need for infrastructure architects, but my recommendation is to pivot into security and cloud architecture. I have seen many architects progress from traditional infrastructure into the security and cloud space successfully over the years. There aren’t many contracting opportunities out there for you, but permanent will see a steady stream of work.

Head’s Of Architecture / Chief Architects

As you are the people who buy my services I wanted to highlight how great you all are.. No, my thoughts on the HoA level are that it is lonely at the top. Many that I have spoken to who have moved into HoA roles in the last 18-24 months hadn’t realised how political this role is. It’s much less about architecture and more selling architecture. It’s not for everyone and for those who enjoy it the opportunities are less frequent compared to the likes of an SA role, but they are out there. I really see a growth area in the organisations that want some sort of architecture support. They don’t need someone full time, but they need someone to give them some sort of structure that they can adhere to. Anyone who is at the stage where you want part time work and to help orgs get a baseline understanding of architecture or architecture concepts, I think it’s about to be a really exciting time for you.

Summary

The big thing for me this year has been the amount of architecture functions who are trying something different. Some want their architects to be closer to the technology and wear a architecture/tech team lead hat, whilst others are creating multiple functions to try make themselves more forward thinking. The overall theme has been about delivering value for your stakeholders, depending on the size and scale of your team you will establish your practice in a way that works for you.

I think it’s an exciting time to be an architect whichever domain you operate in.