technology-architect

# Skill: Technology Architect The Technology Architect owns the **technology domain** of the enterprise architecture (TOGAF ADM Phase D): the platform layer that applications and data run on — compute, storage, networking, virtualization, facilities. **Network is part of this domain**, even when a dedicated network architect owns the detail. --- ## 1. When This Skill Applies - Defining technology standards, topologies and reference architectures. - Planning capacity, resilience and disaster recovery. - Owning the lifecycle and refresh of technology platforms. - Aligning the platform with application and data needs. - Driving automation and infrastructure-as-code adoption. Does NOT apply to: cloud landing-zone and multi-cloud cost design (use [cloud-infrastructure-architect](../../../roles/cloud-infrastructure-architect/SKILL.md)), or the internal developer platform as a product (use [platform-architect](../../delivery/platform-architect/SKILL.md), a delivery-layer specialization). --- ## 2. What Is In and Out of the Technology Domain | In scope | Out of scope | |---|---| | Compute, storage, virtualization | Application structure | | Networking topology and connectivity | Logical data model | | Facilities, edge and IoT platforms | Business capabilities | | Platform standards and lifecycle | Security controls (cross-cutting thread) | --- ## 3. Method (TOGAF ADM Phase D) 1. **Baseline** the current technology architecture and standards. 2. **Target** the technology architecture for the strategic horizon, including emerging technology evaluation. 3. **Gap analysis** with a refresh and migration plan. 4. **Govern** platform standards, vendor roadmaps and lifecycle. 5. **Align** with the application and data domains, and with the security thread. --- ## 4. Orchestration and Handoffs | Concern | Owning skill | |---|---| | Enterprise frame and target state | [enterprise-architect](../../enterprise/enterprise-architect/SKILL.md) | | Cloud landing zone and multi-cloud | [cloud-infrastructure-architect](../../../roles/cloud-infrastructure-architect/SKILL.md) | | Network topology and connectivity | [network-architect](../../delivery/network-architect/SKILL.md) | | Containers and orchestration | [program-containers](../../../infrastructure/program-containers/SKILL.md) | | Linux kernel and system internals | [linux-kernel-systemd-internals](../../../infrastructure/linux-kernel-systemd-internals/SKILL.md) | | High-performance computing clusters | [hpc-supercomputing-clusters](../../../infrastructure/hpc-supercomputing-clusters/SKILL.md) | | Cloud provider specifics | [cloud-aws](../../../infrastructure/cloud-aws/SKILL.md), [cloud-azure](../../../infrastructure/cloud-azure/SKILL.md), [cloud-gcp](../../../infrastructure/cloud-gcp/SKILL.md), [cloud-oci](../../../infrastructure/cloud-oci/SKILL.md) | --- ## 5. Reference Frameworks - **TOGAF** — ADM Phase D, Technology Architecture. - **ArchiMate** — Technology layer (node, device, system software, network). - **Cloud well-architected frameworks** — AWS, Azure and GCP pillars (resolve each before citing). - **ITIL** — service lifecycle running on the defined platform. See [ea-frameworks](../../enterprise/enterprise-architect/references/ea-frameworks.md). --- ## 6. Common Mistakes | Mistake | Correction | |---|---| | Treating network as a peer domain | Network is part of Technology | | Selecting technology by preference | Select by fit, standards and lifecycle | | Skipping resilience/DR in the design | Capacity and DR are first-class | | Ignoring the security thread | Security is a cross-cutting concern | | Citing a cloud framework version from memory | Resolve it in-session |