The cloud architect role may not have been in existence within the last decade, but as cloud adoption is increasing among enterprises this is one role that is in high demand in the current scenario. The cloud architect plans and designs the cloud environment and is responsible for deploying and managing the company's cloud computing strategies. Cloud architects provide breadth and depth for cloud services and can define the cloud-native design.

As you learned in the Solution architecture in the public cloud section in Chapter 1, The Meaning of Solution Architecture, using the cloud is now the current trend and it has become the norm for organizations to move onto a public cloud. Major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are helping customers to adopt cloud platforms at exponential speed with Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings. You will learn more about cloud architectures in Chapter 5, Cloud Migration and Hybrid Cloud Architecture Design.

There are a large number of enterprises that have an existing workload that they want to migrate into the cloud to utilize scalability, ease of business, and price benefits. A cloud architect can prepare a cloud migration strategy and develop a hybrid cloud architecture. A cloud architect can advise how on-premise applications will connect to the cloud and how different traditional offerings fit into a cloud environment.

For startup businesses and enterprises starting in the cloud, a cloud architect can help to design a cloud-native architecture, which is more optimized for the cloud and uses the full capabilities it provides. The cloud-native architecture tends to be built on pay-as-you-go models to optimize cost and leverage automation available in the cloud.

Cloud is now an essential part of enterprise strategy, and a cloud architect is a must-have role of companies want to succeed in the modern era by increasing the pace of innovation and automation.