Business architects, who blend technology expertise with business acumen, are emerging as the ideal professionals to lead organizations through the complex world of AI. Along with hybrid business and tech skills, professionals seeking to advance in today's and tomorrow's economy need to demonstrate a tenacious spirit and a tenacious personality. That's the advice from a senior executive at one of the world's leading technology infrastructure organizations, who says that IT implementations are no longer once-and-done operations.
There's a lot of trial and error in new technology, said Andrew Allan, senior vice president of financial operations for the CIO's office at Siemens. What do you want it to do? How do you want to embrace it? Yet, at the same time, Allan said he does not see AI replacing technology professionals' skills anytime soon at his company. This perspective underscores a broader shift in the enterprise technology landscape, where the role of human judgment and domain expertise remains critical even as artificial intelligence becomes more pervasive.
Solving business challenges
ZDNET spoke with Allan at the recent Salesforce AgentForce event in New York, where he discussed steering the organization with more than 250,000 employees globally on a new course in an increasingly AI-saturated world. Combined technology and business skills are in high demand at Siemens, a sprawling conglomerate that produces and sells digital and automation solutions to a range of heavy industries. The company seeks business architects and like-minded professionals who have deep knowledge of the complexities of the business, and the problems we're trying to solve, and be able to translate that back to a technological solution, said Allan.
When you start looking at what agents can do, you need people who can translate and decipher that, he said. It also means before you break ground, you need a good idea of what you're doing, you need user stories, ethics, ROI, and the business case. Allan recognized that adding agents across the organization means greater complexity, which requires management skills: You have to figure out what you want — what's your north star? What do you want the technology to do? What's the business problem you're trying to solve? If you can ground your use cases in a business opportunity or business problem, that really helps you in how you apply the technology.
He said business architects require a degree of experience: Normally, a minimum of 10 years of planning and analysis experience is expected, according to industry experts. In addition to some systems background, the business architect will possess a broad background in different business sectors, with in-depth experience and knowledge in at least one aspect of the business — for example, engineering, manufacturing, planning, etc. The role of a business architect differs from that of an enterprise architect, Allan explained. An enterprise architect considers applications and infrastructure for a technology roadmap, while a business architect speaks with R&D segments, the chief revenue officer, and pricing and packaging specialists.
They ask, Okay, what are the capabilities that you guys are looking for? What are our go-to market strategies? What are our products? They bring it back in to say, Okay, this is the direction that the business wants to go in, how does that match up with our architectural roadmap? Are there complementary areas? Are there areas we going to have to reason over?
New skills for new demands
Siemens recently embarked on what it calls a One Tech Company strategy, seeking to blend digital and real-world technologies in an approach that integrates software, hardware, AI, and digital twins, both for its internal operations and for customers. It's a way to strap a jetpack on what we're doing and really accelerate the growth that we seek, said Allan. He said he does not see AI consuming technology jobs across his company: I'm old enough to remember when the internet was going to put libraries out of business, or the Y2K bug, or blockchain, or the next shiny thing.
At the same time, he cautioned that AI could prove to be quite a challenge in areas where you have a high-touch horizontal. That process would involve identifying low-hanging fruit where you could be automating tasks that are very repetitive in nature, Allan said. Examples of areas ripe for what he calls agentification include operational tasks, such as validating sales leads or extracting metrics from systems. The good news is that business architects and like-minded roles elevate human skills. At Siemens, he said the emphasis is on encouraging professionals to develop deep domain knowledge from a vertical perspective. AI can really enhance what we do.
Such professionals help enable and oversee a range of vertical processes, including product design, development, deployment, production, and manufacturing. Allan said new technologies free up our staff from the mundane repetitive tasks, so we can start looking at higher-value tasks for jobs of the future. We need business architects who can better understand where the business is driving. Also in great demand are professionals who can oversee user acceptance testing (UAT) — especially as AI agents speed up software deployments, Allan said. Skills for delivering change management are also in demand, as well as having people who understand the psychology of change. They can answer the questions, What's in it for me, what's in it for my organization?
He suggested our current times can be viewed as never normal, in which technology is outstripping organizational design and organizational structure. Some of the biggest challenges right now for organizations are that technology can do anything you want it to do. Allan concluded: The question is, from a human perspective, what you want it to do? And then how do you actually scale up your workforce to take advantage of it? My fear with some technology is that it's used to repave existing cart paths, rather than build a brand-new highway that's going to take you to somewhere that you've never been before.
The evolution of business architecture as a discipline has deep roots in the early 2000s, when organizations first began to formally bridge the gap between IT strategy and business goals. Pioneers like the Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) and the Zachman Framework provided structured approaches to define business capabilities, value streams, and information flows. Today, with the rise of agentic AI, these frameworks are more relevant than ever, as they offer a blueprint for how multiple AI agents can collaborate and align with corporate objectives. Business architects are uniquely positioned to map out the interactions between human workers and AI systems, ensuring that automation efforts do not create silos or conflicts.
In practice, a business architect at Siemens might work with a manufacturing team to define how AI agents can monitor production line efficiency, flag anomalies in real time, and trigger maintenance requests. They would need to understand the technical capabilities of machine learning models, the data governance requirements, and the financial impact of downtime. This holistic view is what makes the role indispensable. Moreover, as AI agents become more autonomous, the ability to define ethical boundaries and accountability structures becomes essential. Business architects often collaborate with legal and compliance teams to ensure that AI decisions align with regulations such as the EU AI Act or industry-specific standards.
Another critical area is the growing complexity of agent networks. When multiple AI agents handle tasks across sales, supply chain, customer service, and HR, the potential for conflicting actions or redundant efforts increases. Business architects design governance frameworks that specify which agent has authority for which decision, how agents escalate issues, and how humans can override automated actions. This requires a deep understanding of business processes and a ability to model decision trees and exception paths. Without such architecture, agentic AI can quickly lead to chaos rather than efficiency.
The demand for these skills is reflected in global hiring trends. According to recent data from LinkedIn, job postings for business architects have increased by over 35% in the past two years, with the highest demand in technology, healthcare, and financial services. Salary benchmarks for experienced business architects now exceed $150,000 annually in the United States, with additional premiums for those who demonstrate AI expertise. Educational programs are also adapting; universities such as MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon now offer certificates in business architecture and AI strategy. These programs emphasize systems thinking, stakeholder management, and iterative design — all core competencies for the future of work.
At Siemens, the implementation of AI agents is not just about cost savings but about creating new value streams. For example, the company uses digital twins — virtual replicas of physical assets — to simulate how AI-controlled processes will behave before deploying them in real factories. Business architects work with engineers to define the key performance indicators that the twin must meet, and they ensure that the simulation aligns with actual customer requirements. This iterative approach reduces risk and accelerates innovation cycles. Allan points out that one of the biggest mistakes companies make is treating AI as a turnkey solution rather than an adaptive tool that requires continuous refinement.
The role of change management cannot be overstated. Employees often fear that AI will eliminate their jobs, leading to resistance and low adoption rates. Business architects, with their dual understanding of technology and human behavior, are ideally suited to lead training sessions and communication campaigns. They can articulate how AI will augment rather than replace human capabilities, using concrete examples from their own domain. For instance, a business architect might demonstrate how an AI agent that automates data entry allows a financial analyst to spend more time on strategic forecasting. This kind of narrative is crucial for building trust and momentum.
Looking ahead, the intersection of business architecture and AI will likely become a distinct career track. Companies are beginning to create titles such as AI Business Architect, Cognitive Automation Lead, and Agent Strategy Manager. These roles require not only technical literacy but also emotional intelligence, creativity, and the ability to navigate organizational politics. As Allan noted, the tenacious personality is key because implementing AI is rarely a straight line; there are setbacks, budget constraints, and shifting priorities. Those who can persistently advocate for the human-centric vision of AI will drive the most sustainable outcomes.
In summary, business architects are not just a niche role but a central pillar of the modern enterprise AI strategy. They ensure that technology serves business ends, not the other way around. With their blend of analytical rigor and strategic thinking, they are poised to lead the corporate AI revolution, turning the promise of intelligent automation into tangible business results. The challenge for organizations is to identify, nurture, and empower these professionals before their competitors do. As Siemens demonstrates, the most successful AI initiatives are those grounded in deep domain expertise and a relentless focus on solving real problems.
Source: ZDNET News