Solutions Architecture Consulting
Architecture that gets implemented — not a 60-slide deck that sits in a Google Drive folder. We design cloud systems, migration roadmaps, and service structures that your engineering team can actually build and operate.
What a Solutions Architect Actually Does
Good architecture work isn't abstract. It answers specific questions: what should we build, how should we connect it, and what will break first at 10x load.
Architecture Review
We audit your current stack against scale, reliability, cost, and security requirements. You get documented findings with prioritized action items — not a generic checklist. We tell you what's actually going to cause problems and when.
Cloud Design
Right-sizing your AWS, GCP, or Azure footprint. Multi-region strategy, networking topology, IAM design, and service selection. We make specific recommendations — not "it depends" answers — because we've operated what we're designing.
Migration Roadmaps
Step-by-step plan to move from legacy infrastructure or a monolith to a modern, cloud-native architecture — with zero-downtime milestones and explicit rollback criteria. We've done this enough times to know where the hidden dependencies show up.
Microservices Strategy
Service decomposition, API contracts, and event-driven patterns where they actually add value. We're just as likely to tell you not to split something as to design the decomposition — because "microservices" has shipped a lot of distributed monoliths.
Data Architecture
Storage selection, data pipelines, caching layers, and database scaling strategy tuned to your access patterns. Whether you need read replicas, a data warehouse, or a Redis layer, we scope it to your actual query patterns — not a reference architecture from a vendor blog.
Cost Architecture
Build with cost controls from day one. Spot instance strategy, auto-scaling policies, resource tagging taxonomy, and FinOps practices that prevent the $40,000 cloud bill surprise. Cost is an architectural constraint, not an afterthought.
How We Work
Architecture engagements have a defined shape. Here's what yours will look like.
Technical Discovery — Week 1
We interview your engineers, review your current stack, map your traffic patterns and failure modes, and understand your growth trajectory. This isn't just reading documentation — we're asking the questions that surface what the docs don't say.
Architecture Design — Weeks 2–3
We produce the architecture: diagrams, decision records, tradeoff analysis, and a phased implementation plan with effort estimates. We use C4 model notation and tools your team can edit and own — not proprietary formats locked to our tooling.
Review & Revision
We walk through the design with your team and your engineers push back. That's the point. The best architecture sessions involve someone saying "we tried that in 2023 and here's why it broke." We revise until the team owns it.
Handoff & Implementation Support
We don't hand off a doc and go dark. We stay available for implementation questions through the first major deployment, and we can extend into a full implementation engagement if you want us hands-on with the build.
Tools & Technologies
We document in formats your team can live in. We design for systems you actually run.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I actually need a solutions architect?
When your current architecture is limiting growth, when you're planning a cloud migration, or when you're making a technology decision with a 2–3 year blast radius. The signals are usually: "we can't deploy without breaking something," "scaling costs are out of control," or "we want to move off this thing but don't know where to start." If you're saying any of those things, it's time.
What's the difference between a solutions architect and a DevOps engineer?
An architect designs the system; a DevOps engineer builds and operates it. They're related skills but not the same job. The reason our architecture work is useful is that we do both — which means our designs are grounded in operational reality, not just whiteboard theory. When we say "put Kafka here," we know what it looks like to operate Kafka at 3am when a consumer group goes sideways.
How long does an architecture engagement take?
A focused architecture review is typically two weeks. A full system redesign with implementation roadmap is four to six weeks depending on scope. We stay available for implementation questions after handoff at no extra charge — because a design that gets misimplemented isn't actually a successful design.
Do you implement what you design?
Yes. We don't hand off a deck and disappear. Every architecture engagement includes implementation support through the first major deployment. If you want us to stay on through the full build, we can extend into an infrastructure engineering or DevOps services engagement. Most clients who start with an architecture review end up working with us through implementation.
Related Services
Ready to get your architecture sorted?
Get an architecture review and a prioritized action plan. No NDAs required for an initial conversation — just tell us what you're building and where it's hurting.
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