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Kay Kleinvogel
Kay Kleinvogel

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Day 4: The three steps of creating your first cloud architecture

Are you a new cloud architect developing your first cloud architecture for a client?

Let me walk you through the three basic steps you'll need to design your first cloud architecture successfully.


The significance of a cloud architecture

The architecture is the foundation for all cloud project planning and implementation, enabling you to spot possible issues before going live. As a result, the architecture should be properly planned and aligned with all major stakeholders.

Step 1: Examine the surroundings

Building a cloud architecture is never a purely technical endeavor; it always exists within a business's context.

Because of this, it is critical to understand your surroundings before beginning to build an architecture. Learn about your client's business and their objectives. The non-technical requirements will give you a framework in which to work. After you've figured out the non-technical needs, you can ask about the technical requirements for the solutions.

After gathering both non-technical and technical requirements, you should understand the architecture required to solve the business challenge.

Step 2: Create a rough draft

The next stage is to put your thoughts on paper by producing a first draft.

It is critical to visualize your ideas. Sketches can be used to discuss your ideas and solicit feedback. Most hyperscalers will have tools for drawing architectural sketches.

You don't need to have all the details right now. Instead, focus on the architecture's broad ideas and how it can solve business issues.

Step 3: Gather feedback, iterate, and finalize

When you have completed your first sketch, you should receive feedback as soon as possible.

You can either have a short call or a larger workshop for this. During this meeting, show the stakeholder your sketch and explain your thought process. Allow them to understand how it solves their issues. Then allow them to ask questions and express concerns. If something new comes up that you have yet to consider, use it to improve your architecture.

Repeat this until all requirements have been met and all stakeholders are satisfied.


Creating a cloud architecture is a natural process, and feel free to seek feedback and adapt your architecture accordingly. This is the perfect time to make adjustments, and you'd rather make them now than four weeks later, when all of the servers have been deployed.

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