Summary

Enterprise executives will make final decisions on just about every aspect of a cloud deployment. Required investment levels and organizational impact makes this inevitable. As a key team member, the solution architect must always understand and manage the viewpoints of any involved executive. These tasks require two-way communication and the effective transfer of difficult concepts and new business, operational, and economic models. In almost all instances, the solution architect tends to be cast to serve the role of lead executive instructor. The challenge of this role was made clear in early 2018 when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the United States Senate on social media data protection concerns. Although these senior leaders were seriously contemplating the implementation of new social media laws and regulations, their questions on basic cloud computing business models and technologies betrayed a sometimes comical ignorance of modern technology. This chapter should go a long way in assisting you in the performance of your educational duties.