---
titel: "IT architect for SMEs in Switzerland · Ivo Schönberner"
url: https://sacosi.ch/en/it-architecture
seite: /en/it-architecture
stand: 2026-09-24
beschreibung: "Ivo Schönberner designs target architectures from how the business works: identity, workplace with Mac and Windows, cloud, local AI and compliance by design."
---

> Knowledge version of the page https://sacosi.ch/en/it-architecture. It contains the full text, including what is shortened or collapsible on the page itself. Publisher: SACOSI, Situational Awareness Consulting by Ivo Schönberner, Zürich.

# IT architecture for companies with up to 1’000 employees.

**Short answer:** As IT architect, I design a target architecture derived from how your business works, not from a vendor catalogue. Topics include identity, workplace with Mac and Windows, cloud and on-premises operation, AI with sensitive data, and compliance by design. You receive an architecture diagram, a decision log and a roadmap.

## Which topics does the target architecture cover?

A target architecture is only as good as its connection to the business. That is why every topic starts with the question of which process it supports.

### Identity and access

Who may do what, from where, with which device. The basis for security and audit.

### Workplace

Mac and Windows on equal footing, centrally managed, with the same rules.

### Cloud and on-premises operation

What belongs in the cloud and what stays in-house, decided on reasoned grounds rather than dogma.

### AI with sensitive data

Locally operated models, where data must not leave the premises.

### Data and applications

Which systems are the system of record and how information flows, without shadow lists.

### Compliance by design

ISO 27001, the FADP, the GDPR and industry requirements as part of the architecture, not as an add-on.

## How does the target architecture come about?

In short, intensive rounds with executive management and business units, not in the ivory tower of IT.

- **Situation assessment:** interviews with executive management, business units and IT on goals, core processes and budget, a SWOT analysis, review of existing systems and contracts.
- **Target architecture workshop:** jointly translating the requirements of the business into architecture decisions.
- **Elaboration:** architecture diagram, decision log, roadmap with effort estimates and dependencies.
- **Support:** implementation on request, together with your IT team or with IT am Main.

## What is on the table at the end?

- **Process map and process flows:** which core processes the architecture must support, with systems and handovers.
- **Architecture diagram:** a representation that executive management and IT can read equally well.
- **Decision log:** every decision with its trigger, options and reasoning.
- **Roadmap:** sequence, effort, cost relative to budget, dependencies and quick wins.
- **Game plan:** the roadmap with effort and cost relative to budget.
- **Auditable documentation:** kept conformant, for example with ISO 27001, versioned and approved.
- **Situation picture:** the page from which everything is derived. More on this under [Situational Awareness](https://sacosi.ch/en/situational-awareness).

## Questions about IT architecture.

### For which company sizes does Ivo Schönberner work as IT architect?

Mainly for companies with around 50 to 1’000 employees, often SMEs and companies in regulated industries. At this size, IT is too complex for improvisation, but usually without its own architecture department.

### What is a target architecture?

A target architecture describes what a company's IT should look like in twelve to 36 months: identities, workplaces, applications, data, operations and security, derived from the processes and goals of the business, with a roadmap to get there.

### Does Ivo Schönberner work with Mac and Windows?

Yes. He plans workplaces with Mac and Windows on equal footing, including device management, identity and security, so that both worlds meet the same rules.

### When should AI run locally instead of in the cloud?

When data is confidential, personal or regulated and must not or should not go to third parties. In that case, a locally operated model can be the more sensible choice. The decision depends on data, cost and requirements and is set out in the decision log.

### What is compliance by design?

Compliance by design means that requirements such as ISO 27001, the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), the GDPR or industry requirements are built into the architecture from the outset, rather than added on later. That saves rework and makes audits predictable.

## Does your IT still fit your business?

Thirty minutes, no pitch. You describe the situation, I ask questions. Afterwards, we both know whether a situation picture is worthwhile.

CH +41 78 251 09 69 DE +49 152 27602667 ZRH 47.3769°N · FRA 50.1109°N · German, English