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North Ark

Fractional principal architect

A senior architect in your corner, for the decisions your team shouldn't make alone.

Internal teams make big infrastructure decisions with little time and no second opinion: which platform, which vendor, whether the MSP's design is sound. A fractional principal architect gives your team senior design authority on a monthly retainer.

Start with an infrastructure roadmap
Printed network architecture drawings on a timber table with a steel ruler and pencil.

What the role covers

  • Architecture decisions, written down with the options and the reasoning
  • Design reviews for projects, whoever is delivering them
  • Vendor and MSP oversight: checking proposals, designs and quotes before you commit
  • The infrastructure roadmap, kept current against renewals and budget cycles
  • A seat on your change advisory board for significant changes
  • Standards for cloud, network, identity and security that projects are held to
Four stages left to right: Design, Build, Cutover with a rollback path, and Handover.

How it runs

  1. Start: an infrastructure and technology roadmap, or a review of the one you have.
  2. Monthly: a set number of days for reviews, decisions and time with your team.
  3. On demand: design reviews and vendor checks as projects come up, within the agreed time.
  4. Quarterly: the roadmap and standards reviewed with your leadership.

Independent of what you buy

The architect's job is to get the design right for you. Recommendations are written down with the reasoning, so your team can see why an option was chosen, whoever ends up delivering it.

Engineering behind the advice

The architect works with North Ark's engineers, and the patterns they recommend are the ones we build and run every day: landing zones, hybrid networks, identity, security and infrastructure as code.

Questions buyers ask

How is this different from a consultant?

It is ongoing. The same architect learns your environment and your business, and is available when decisions come up rather than for one project.

Can the architect review our MSP's work?

Yes. Independent review of provider designs, changes and quotes is a core part of the role.

How much time is included?

A set number of days each month, agreed in the retainer, with more available for major decisions.

Can we combine it with a fractional CISO?

Yes. Architecture and security advice can be combined in one advisory retainer.

How is it priced?

A fixed monthly retainer based on the time and scope agreed, usually for 12 months.

Related

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