Team Aims at Software, IT Architects

A little-known Architecture Strategy team at Microsoft guides architects using the company’s products, both inside and outside Microsoft. Architects are high-level technical personnel who make broad, long-term, decisions about software and IT system design inside enterprises. Microsoft’s team, which is rolling out a certification program for architects this June, helps systems integrators and other Microsoft partners to reach influential architects, but its influence in the broader industry has inherent limits.

Architecture Strategy Team Overview

The Architecture Strategy team consists of about 20 architects, hired from the industry or transferred from other Microsoft teams, who formulate guidance for architects among Microsoft’s large corporate customers.

The team defines an architect as someone who:

• Defines software or IT design principles that apply throughout a business unit or company, and not just for one project; for example, the architect might dictate that all new applications