What are the Responsibilities of a Data Architect?

The role of a data architect is no less than a visionary leader in an organization who plans and designs an appropriate data structure for storing, managing, securing, and managing huge volumes of data. Here is a list of responsibilities of a data architect.

• Designing, developing, and implementing organizational data strategy that aligns with the business processes. The strategy that a data architect follows involves designing data models, formulating database standards, managing data warehouses, and maintaining data analytics systems.
• A data architect is responsible for identifying internal and external data sources to develop an effective data management system that aligns with organizational data strategy.
• A data architect collaborates and coordinates with cross-functional teams like IT and operations, stakeholders, and vendors to ensure the smooth development and functioning of the entire database structure.
• A data architect manages all aspects of a data architecture including the selection of a data platform, the design of a technical architecture, developing an application to test the database structure, and implementing the proposed data structure.
• A data architect utilizes data modeling tools like Studio/ER to visualize, design, and plan a data architecture. Use programming languages like Python to test and troubleshoot data structure applications and systems.
• Data architects have a critical role in application design owing to the relationship between business needs, data, and applications. Data architects interact with team leaders and managers of various departments to ensure a smooth flow of data.
• Data architects work with the CIO to make effective communication regarding line organizational data collection and align with available database applications and databases.
• A data architect is responsible for communicating with data analysts and administrators to understand data infrastructure needs and design databases accordingly.
• A data architect turns high-level data models into specific database models and applications.
• A data architect plans and executes big data solutions and completes a database management cycle using technologies like Hadoop. Documentation of data pipeline processes for metadata and data cases is the responsibility of a data architect.
• Defines and manages data flow and dissemination of information within the organization data structure is managed by a data architect.
• A data architect integrates technical data functionalities that include data accessibility, security, and accuracy. He ensures that the data within the enterprise’s database management complies with regularity and safety standards as well as is secured from potential threats. It is ensured that data is retrieved at any time within minutes.
• A data architect has the responsibility of conducting a continuous audit or performance measurement of database management. It is the data architect who makes necessary changes in the database infrastructure based on the performance or reports to the higher authorities in case of any loopholes.

Don’t you think there is a lot of buzz about data or big data these days? Almost every organization, big or small, leverages the power of data to find useful insights, deploy strategies, make informed decisions, and run business operations smoothly. 52% of the enterprises are actively analyzing data to make operational decisions and make decisions globally while 71% of the organizations believe that their spending on data will increase over the next four years.

With this, several new organizational roles have emerged. One of those is that of a data architect. Data architects implement IT and programming expertise to design data management systems. A data architect is often interchanged with a data analyst or data engineer. But this is not true!

Let us explain to you here the roles and responsibilities of a data architect, the skills of a data architect, and what one needs to become a data architect.