Solution architecture: from business need to a solution that holds
The need: turn a business need into technical choices a team can build and run.
What I bring:
- a target architecture and technology choices, written down (SAD, ADR);
- architecture and design reviews;
- support for the teams who build: application structure, library choices, integration patterns;
- modernisation of existing applications.
Examples: an HR portal modernised, with hosting costs down about 70%.
Environment: .NET, Microsoft Azure, containers.
Azure cloud and platforms: a shared foundation
The need: every project builds its own hosting, with its own security and operations choices.
What I bring:
- a shared, repeatable cloud foundation that new projects start from;
- security and operations built in from day one;
- direction and a roadmap for the existing cloud landscape;
- cloud platform guidance for new projects.
Examples: a platform that became the baseline for new projects at a pharmaceutical group; guidance that steers platform choice at a gas infrastructure operator.
Environment: Microsoft Azure, Kubernetes, DevSecOps.
Integration architecture: reliable exchanges between systems
The need: exchanges between applications, with partners and around reference data, often where an IT landscape is most exposed.
What I bring:
- a target integration architecture, built around APIs and events;
- customer and reference data managed in one place, consent included;
- plans to decommission existing integrations;
Examples: the HR integration redesign at a gas infrastructure operator; staff-access automation; continuity for a platform with about 135 interfaces.
Environment: IBM service bus, API Management, Apache Kafka, Informatica MDM.
Enterprise architecture: deciding on the application portfolio
The need: IT leadership has to decide what to rationalise, what to protect and where to invest, and needs a factual basis to do so.
What I bring:
- architecture governance: architecture review board, standards, reference architectures;
- an architecture repository and a view of the application portfolio;
- multi-year transformation roadmaps, application rationalisation, business capability mapping;
- reusable documentation templates and process catalogues.
Examples: 202 business processes migrated to a central catalogue.
Environment: TOGAF, ArchiMate, BPMN 2.0, Orbus iServer 365.
Business cases and costed options: deciding before you build
The need: a decision (redesign, compliance, continuity), to be grounded in compared, costed options.
What I bring:
- options compared on real cost (build, run, exit), through to the decision paper;
- business cases and cost-benefit analysis;
- business continuity and disaster recovery;
- security and compliance by design: identity and access management, GDPR, NIS2, GxP.
Examples: a costed GDPR target, from five options; an architecture that meets a three-day recovery target.
Environment: IAM, OAuth, zero trust, OWASP.
Applied AI for architecture deliverables
The need: an architecture team wants to produce faster without lowering its standards, or wonders where AI really adds something.
What I bring:
- tools that automate documentation work: export, diagrams, review (see the AI page);
- a review method: built-in quality gates, human in the loop;
- evaluation of AI use cases for IT.
Examples: a structured LLM evaluation as early as 2023 at a gas infrastructure operator; the rollout of GitHub Copilot Enterprise, since 2026 at a car importer.
Technical leadership: leading a team
The need: a team of architects or developers to lead, or a Head of Architecture role to cover on an interim basis.
What I bring:
- leading a team of architects or developers;
- operational management of internal and external teams, budget included;
- coaching architects and developers.
Examples: a team of four architects at a pharmaceutical group; up to 14 people and a budget of about €3M in food retail.
How I lead: on assignments, through influence rather than reporting lines.
Architecture review and advisory: an independent view before you commit
The need: IT leadership or a project team wants an independent view before a decision that commits them: a go/no-go, a platform choice, a tender, a go-live. Or an IT manager wants an architecture adviser without a full-time hire.
What I bring:
- an architecture review of a solution, a platform or a programme, with prioritised findings and recommendations;
- a critical review of architecture documents and decision papers;
- a costed option study, through to the decision paper;
- ongoing part-time advisory for a CTO, a CIO or an architecture team.
Examples: the five-option study on the right to be forgotten; the cloud landscape review and roadmap.