Bridging the gap between data architects and IT teams requires fostering clear communication and aligning their goals. Start by ensuring both teams understand how their roles support one another and how their collaboration contributes to the broader organizational objectives. Regular cross-functional meetings can help clarify each team’s priorities and address challenges in real-time. Encourage the use of shared tools and frameworks to streamline communication and build a common language. This approach not only enhances teamwork but also ensures smoother integration between the data architecture and IT infrastructure, ultimately leading to more scalable and efficient solutions.

In my view, you must focus on improving communication and collaboration. You should clarify shared goals, ensure both teams understand each other's roles, and encourage regular meetings to align on strategies and address challenges together.

To ensure alignment between the two groups, it is essential to address the following: - Establish shared goals to create a unified direction. - Prioritize areas where both groups can contribute from the outset. - Maintain open communication channels, ensuring that individuals focus on the overall outcome rather than personal agendas, which often disrupts balance. - Adopt an agile methodology, with clearly defined outcomes for each sprint. - Realign or pivot as needed to adapt to changing circumstances. - Follow a path of least resistance, being willing to compromise on speed or scale when necessary.

Architects' decisions can sometimes be considered constraints to the IT teams, especially when focusing on optimizing aspects of the architecture, like the TCO, license compliance, or project delivery quality. Data architects need to listen to and be aware of those remarks and periodically review the efficiency of decisions and the side effects of architectural choices. There are always several sides to a problem. What matters at the end is that value is delivered to the business. Architects and IT have the same objective, which should cement our collaboration.