In this chapter, you learned about the various soft skills required for a solution architect to be successful. A solution architect needs to have pre-sales skills such as negotiation, communication, problem-solving, and listening, which help them to support the pre-sales cycle for the organization, such as with the RFP. You learned about the presentation skills required for executive conversation and buy-in.

You learned about the strategic understanding that a solution architect should have to define key objectives and results for an organization. To execute at various levels, solution architects should have the ability to think big and be flexible and adaptable. You learned details about solution architects taking ownership and being accountable for their actions.

A solution architect's role has the primary responsibility of architecture design. You learned about design thinking, with its principles and phases. You also learned about the importance of continuous learning and different techniques to keep learning and keep yourself up-to-date with market trends. You also learned about the additional responsibilities of the solution architect—to work as a mentor and evangelist.

It was a long journey where you went through 16 chapters to learn all about solution architects, from their roles and responsibilities to a different aspect of solution design and architecture optimization. I hope you have learned a lot, and that it will help you to develop your career as a solution architect or help you to succeed in your current role.

Happy learning!!!