The term “infrastructure” describes the fundamental hardware and software that underpins and supports an organization’s activities. The IT infrastructure is made up of physical servers, storage devices, network devices, operating systems, and other elements. Infrastructure is created to offer the resources required for apps to operate dependably and properly.
A platform, on the other hand, is an abstraction at a higher level that is built on top of the infrastructure. It is a software framework that offers tools and services to developers so they may create, distribute, and manage apps. Platforms hide the underlying infrastructure, freeing developers to concentrate on creating apps rather than worrying about it.
An organization’s technological platform and infrastructure are designed and managed by an architect. They might be responsible for building infrastructure architectures, choosing hardware and software parts, assessing and implementing new technologies, and making sure the platform and infrastructure are operating at peak efficiency.
In order to guarantee that the platform offers the required tools and services to develop and deploy applications, architects also collaborate closely with developers. They work together with stakeholders to comprehend business needs and match the organization’s objectives with the technology plan.
An architect must possess a wide range of technical abilities, including understanding of network architecture, security, cloud computing, infrastructure and platform design, and data management. In order to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, such as developers, business executives, and technology vendors, they also need good communication and leadership abilities.
A bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related discipline is often required to become an architect. AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert, or Cisco Certified Network Associate credentials are required in addition to several years of relevant job experience in infrastructure and platform architecture.
Enterprise architects, solution architects, application architects, data architects, security architects, infrastructure architects, and cloud architects are just a few of the several kinds of architects. Although each sort of architect has a particular emphasis area and set of duties, they all collaborate to create and oversee the organization’s technology architecture.