21/08/2025
Life at Getronics is all about finding the perfect option for customers at every level. We get enquiries from business throughout the world, and across industries. So, how do we take organisations from that first question, to a tailored IT service? The answer is solution architecture.
Solution architecture is one of the core steps along that path, we have dedicated team members who are ready to build something perfect for you.
We spoke with Carl Dillow, Getronics Global Head of Technical Architecture, to understand what a day in the life of his work looks like, and discover the answer to the real question – what is solution architecture?
What is solution architecture within Getronics?
CD: Solution architecture within Getronics is the technical element of presales. Outsourcing works because businesses cannot afford to maintain their IT staffing levels to handle peak flow numbers. During peaks, there will always be a degradation of service. Small and medium-sized enterprise businesses also cannot often justify the cost of a subject-matter expert for every piece of technology they use. They therefore often employ a jack-of-all-trades or generalist to do the work.
Solution architects can analyse a business, and the expected throughput of calls and issues based on real world experience of several years of outsourcing. Providing a well-educated estimate of resource requirements can then be calculated as 10% of SME 1 and 40% of SME2, meaning the customer has the benefit of the right SME when they need it.
Getronics would also employ a team of those SMEs so that someone was available if issues arose.
What difference does solution architecture make to those without it?
To make this more effective, Getronics has spent years constructing a customisable standard template for IT. The customisable nature means that where some aspects are fixed, we allow the customer an opportunity to tailor elements to suit them. This provides a great deal of flexibility in the solution, with optional and customisable components across the board. The solution architects can build all of these into the best support partnership with the customer moving forward.
The difference between working with solution architecture or not is like going into a supermarket for a meal deal for lunch off the shelf, or having a chef cook something up to your specification. The chef has a fixed set of ingredients and a wealth of experience in what goes well together. Although ultimately, you have the control of some key parts of the meal. As the partnership progresses, we have more time to spend with customers. We start to understand their business objectives and help shape their IT strategy to align to those goals.
What’s the most common misconception about solution architects?
CD: The most common misconception about solution architects is that they are salesman. Working in an outsourcing business, you could say that everyone is a salesman; this is particularly true of teams in the presales area. That being said, an architect never drives toward making a great sale. The driving force is providing the customer with solution architecture that allows their users the greatest levels of productivity with the lowest levels of downtime. Providing an IT Architecture at the right level to support both business objectives and the IT budget.
If you get the solution right and understand the business, then hopefully the customer chooses to partner with you on their IT moving forward. I am not going to recommend a two-seater sports car to a single-vehicle family of four.
What would help you perform your role better?
CD: To perform our roles better it would be really good to have more direct contact with the customer. This is always a challenge, as RFPs can often involve six or more participants, so every hour spent by us is multiplied by six or more. That could eliminate a significant portion of the existing team from carrying out their regular day-to-day tasks.
This often forces customers to communicate solely through documents that may lack key information, or in some cases, to use a third party to carry out their selection process on their behalf. These can be the most challenging to design against. It would seem better to me to down select quickly to two participants and give them both as much of your time as you can afford.
If you make a selection based on how flowery the text is, or by price, then you are selecting a supplier-client relationship where change control and additional charges will play a key factor. If you choose a provider based on who understands you best, works most effectively with you, and brings proven architecture to achieve your goals and budgets, then you are selecting an IT partner who will work together with you over the length of the contract and beyond, to ensure your users come first.
Now you’ve heard an expert answer the key question – what is solution architecture? It’s time to think if you could, you use a solution architect in your digital transformation journey. Contact us to begin a conversation, and discover the difference a Getronics partnership will make.
