Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
Job Profiles in Cloud Technology
2.1.
Cloud Engineer
2.2.
Solution Architect
2.3.
Cloud Architect
2.4.
Enterprise Architect 
3.
Salary and Benefits
4.
Skill Required
5.
Responsibilities
6.
Roadmap
6.1.
Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect
6.2.
AWS Certified Solutions Architect
6.3.
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
7.
Frequently Asked Questions
7.1.
What are the steps to becoming a cloud architect?
7.2.
What does a cloud architect do? 
7.3.
What is the difficulty level of the Google Cloud Architect certification? 
7.4.
What qualifications do you need to work as a cloud architect?
7.5.
Is becoming a cloud architect difficult?
8.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Cloud Architecture at Google

Author Shiva
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Introduction

I'm sure you've heard the term "Cloud Architect" when it comes to the cloud. This article will cover things like what a cloud architect works, the skills and credentials required to work as one, Salary & Benefits, and the best part, Roadmap. Some of the most misunderstood terms in the business are “Cloud Architect,” “Solution Architect,” “Enterprise Architect,” and “Cloud Engineer.” You are one step closer to starting your career at Google.

We've covered every last detail in this article and other information and handy connections.

Job Profiles in Cloud Technology

This diagram best demonstrates the distinctions between all of the terminologies.

Let’s start from the bottom: 

Cloud Engineer

Let's start by talking about cloud engineers.

The cloud engineer is the group's most technically savvy member. A cloud engineer knows everything there is to know about how a specific cloud service operates. So, if we're talking about AWS S3, for example, that cloud engineer will know everything there is to know about S3, including how to configure all of the features and capabilities. That's the cloud engineer on the left. It's a deeply technical role in constructing things, and it'll be focused on the cloud provider's unique services.

Solution Architect

Let's move on to the solution architect now.

A solution Architect is a systems designer. As a result, the systems designer will meet with clients. It will be a customer-facing position. They'll ask about business, legal, technological, and regulatory problems before coming up with a solution and designing architecture.

Solution architects supply solutions from a single vendor. 

As an example, if a solution architect works for AWS, they'll give you an end-to-end design using AWS solutions. A solution architect accomplishes exactly that.

They are the designer of a particular company's unique solutions. Now, this might encompass other programs as well. Solution architect roles, on the other hand, are often held by single suppliers and are not particularly technical. They are, however, still rather technical in terms of the single vendor's depth of knowledge and services, but they are less specialized in understanding the complete business processes and less technical in some of the business experiences that you may see, which will become more necessary in later jobs. The solution architect will have significantly more in-depth knowledge of the single vendors they're dealing with than anyone else because that's their job.

Cloud Architect

The cloud architect is now primarily a design function. A person in this job will work with leaders such as the CEO, CIO, CTO, and CFO, as well as VPS, directors of IPs, managers, engineers, and architects. They'll have a lot of questions for you. They'll then conduct an evaluation.

They'll look at applications and develop a solution, an end-to-end solution, a worldwide solution for the business that will answer all of the company's difficulties, or at least as many as they can with technology.

It's possible that you're using multi-cloud solutions and multi-cloud providers. It's possible that everything is kept in the data center.

It might be anything as simple as setting up a Nutanix or OpenStack cloud in the data center and connecting it to a public cloud provider like AWS or GCD(Google Cloud Program). The cloud architect is an expert at everything. Because it's a bigger business job, the focus will be much more on business strategy and a bit less on individual cloud provider services. The cloud architect now needs to know everything all around for the global corporate solution.

Enterprise Architect 

The enterprise architect's job is to build technology solutions to help the customer's business grow.

It has the same ring to it as a cloud architect. It is in many aspects, but the enterprise architect's focus will be a little broader than mere infrastructure. They'll have a look at your application. They'll be investigating the infrastructure. They'll be looking into the security situation. They'll be looking at the company's requirements.

They'll be on the lookout for a competitive business edge, and then they'll work with the teams to try to create something that will provide it.

So, the enterprise architect is a system designer, but they'll be more business-oriented, with a focus on business strategy. So, if you look at the curve, you've got the cloud engineer who is the most thorough technical on the services, the solution architect who is less technical but more business-oriented on the curve but still has a lot of understanding of single vendor services.

The cloud architect knows everything there is to know about the cloud and overall system designs but also a lot about business, and the enterprise architect is someone who knows less about technology but a lot more about the business and how technology can help the organization.

Salary and Benefits

The average annual base compensation for cloud architects in India is around Rs 1,600,000. Several circumstances could cause this to increase considerably. In rare situations, the average base wage has been reported to reach Rs 2,400,000 per year. Out of all the other considerations, your experience as a cloud architect is arguably the most crucial.
 

Even though the maximum income a cloud architect in India can anticipate earning is Rs 5,000,000 per year, just 1% of all cloud architects in India receive such a high salary. This could be because pay in this bracket is based on experience, and there won't be enough people in the country with such extensive expertise.

However, around 10% of all cloud architects earn roughly Rs 3,500,000 per year on average; as your experience as a cloud architect grows, so does your pay.
 

Apart from these massive packages, Google also provides some benefits to their employees, Being a Google employee Google Cloud Architect also enjoys these benefits:

  • Healthcare Benefits: Google provides medical insurance to its employees. Google employees can tailor comprehensive medical coverage for themselves, their spouses, and any dependents they may have.
     
  • Work/Life Balance: To help employees achieve a decent work-life balance, Google offers a number of learning, social, and development initiatives.
     
  • Parental Leave: When a person gives birth to a kid, adopts a child, or fosters a child, they have a legal right to time off.
     
  • Paid Time Off: Paid time off (PTO) is available to most salaried employees, but it is usually limited to sick and vacation days.
     
  • Financial & Retirement Benefits: Google offers financial incentives to its employees, such as a 401(k) matching scheme, to assure their financial well-being.
     
  • Flexibility: Google employs a hybrid work arrangement that allows employees to work from home two days per week (in most roles).
  • Food & Snacks: One of Google's most popular bonuses is the free lunches provided on the company's office campuses, and rightfully so.
     
  • Fitness Facilities: It's no surprise that one of the top Google employee perks is access to exercise facilities, given the company's focus on employee health and wellness.
     
  • Mental Wellbeing: Employee help programs for mental health are available at Google.
     
  • Onsite Services & Conveniences: Google's perks and benefits are designed to make life easier and more enjoyable for everyone on the team. As a result, the firm now provides a variety of onsite services.
     
  • Other incentives: For a job well done, Google has its own gold star system, in which employees are rewarded with massage credits.

Skill Required

You should have extensive knowledge in cloud computing or a similar technological discipline if you want to work as a Cloud Architect. You're generally on the right track if you understand most, if not all, of the following principles.

  • You must have at least one operating system (Linux, Unix, Solaris, Ubuntu, Windows), preferably any Linux operating system (for example, Ubuntu or Red Hat). However, prior expertise as an administrator or architect in any of the common operating systems is a plus.
     
  • TCP/IP, IP addresses, HTTP, and DNS, are all networking principles you should know.
     
  • Computer programming languages: A basic familiarity with a programming or scripting language is required. This isn't absolutely necessary, but it will surely help.
     
  • Security: A Cloud Architect must have a high-level understanding of key security principles because cloud security is so important. As a result, you'll need a rudimentary comprehension of security principles like firewalls.
     

These are absolutely essential in order for you to be Google Cloud Architect. In addition, you can get certified by Google, Microsoft, or Amazon in Cloud Technologies.

Here, We have listed the minimum requirements in order for you to become a Google Cloud Architect:

  • A bachelor's degree in computer science or a comparable engineering area or equivalent work experience is required.
     
  • Experience with cloud computing or traditional enterprise data-center technology for at least 5 years.
     
  • Working on technical assets or developing technical documentation is a plus.
     
  • In the cloud market, you should have experience with industry analysis and corporate technology sales.
     

In order for you to make your chances even higher, We have also listed preferred qualifications:

  • A master's degree in computer science or a similar engineering subject, or comparable professional experience in software/systems engineering or a leadership role.
     
  • 5 years of expertise creating or developing commercial apps using a variety of corporate and cloud technology systems.
     
  • Jenkins, Spinnaker, TeamCity, Bamboo, or any automation workflow engine experience is required.
     
  • It's a good idea to know how to manage the configuration of your deployed workloads with technologies like Chef, Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes.
     
  • Knowledge of infrastructure automation, continuous integration/deployment, SQL/NoSQL, security, networking, and cloud-based delivery models in their current condition.

Responsibilities

  • During all phases of customer interactions, facilitate technical talks with customers, partners, and Google personnel as needed.
     
  • Provide domain expertise in public cloud and enterprise technology and market Google Cloud at conferences and online to customers.
     
  • Create and offer technical, business, and executive partners with best-practice suggestions, tutorials, blog articles, sample code, and presentations.
     
  • To assist product and engineering teams in defining product direction and provide customer and market feedback.
     
  • Work as part of a bigger picture. While affecting business and bookings, the Go-to-Market team will provide technical assets, prioritize, and define solution direction.

Roadmap

If you want to become a professional Cloud Architect, apart from the core knowledge of the subject as we have already discussed in the Skill Required section, the following certificates will assist you in achieving your goal.

Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect

The Google Cloud Architect for Professionals certification provides IT professionals with everything they need to work with Google Cloud Architecture technology. The exam will verify your ability to design, create, and manage cloud-based business solutions that are scalable and secure. You'll also need to know how to create compliant cloud apps and services, as well as analyze and optimize business processes.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect

Like the Google Cloud Architecture certificate Amazon has one too; The  AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certifies an individual's understanding of application design and ability to create secure apps on Amazon's cloud. This certification is for professionals who have more than a year of AWS system design experience. Throughout the project lifecycle, candidates will be judged on their ability to build solutions based on customer requirements and provide implementation guidance using architectural design principles.

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert is the first expert-level role-based certification from Microsoft. It is little from Google Cloud Architect. Candidates must pass two examinations to earn the Azure Solutions Architect certification, according to the certification process. They are as follows:

  1. Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies Exam (AZ-303)
    This exam assesses a candidate's ability to advise stakeholders and translate business requirements into highly reliable, scalable, and secure solutions.
  2. Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304)
    Applicants must have experience advising stakeholders and translating business requirements into highly reliable, scalable, and secure solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the steps to becoming a cloud architect?

To become a cloud architect, there are no formal educational prerequisites. However, you should be well-versed in cloud computing, particularly cloud deployment models, cloud service models, and cloud deployment architectures. You should also be knowledgeable about the cloud service provider market, including the various cloud service providers and their offerings.

What does a cloud architect do? 

Designing and executing cloud computing solutions is the responsibility of the cloud architect. Developing the cloud infrastructure, cloud application architecture, and cloud security architecture is part of this process.

What is the difficulty level of the Google Cloud Architect certification? 

Obtaining the Google Cloud Architect certification is a demanding task. It necessitates a thorough knowledge of cloud computing, including cloud deployment models, cloud service models, and cloud deployment architectures.

What qualifications do you need to work as a cloud architect?

You should have extensive knowledge in cloud computing or a similar technological discipline if you want to work as a Cloud Architect. You should also have a solid grasp of at least one operating system, as well as flexibility, a desire to learn, and good time management and communication skills.

Is becoming a cloud architect difficult?

Obtaining the Google Cloud Architect certification is a demanding task. It necessitates a thorough knowledge of cloud computing, including cloud deployment models, cloud service models, and cloud deployment architectures.

Conclusion

This article covers everything you need to know about Google Cloud Architect. Want to learn more? Refer to the articles AWS vs. Azure vs. Google CloudAll about Google Cloud Architecture for Professionals Certifications, and Comparing AWS, Microsoft Azure & Google Cloud.
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