What does a solutions manager do?
A solutions manager oversees the planning and execution of a business project or program. Their responsibilities revolve around liaising with clients to discuss their needs and preferences, coordinating with various departments to gather and analyze data, identifying weak areas, and recommending solutions through new processes and policies for optimal service and performance. They may also delegate tasks, assess the workforce, and produce progress reports and presentations. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Solutions manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real solutions manager resumes:
- Lead and manage the ETL process with a team of five analysts and developers.
- Lead and assemble combined RFI and RFP response teams and negotiate contracts.
- Manage offshore team SLA within require results for the core business functions.
- Attain more successful cloud deployments by generating blueprint for Cisco s cloud services.
- Manage ERP solutions for multiple clients serving as a single point of contact.
- Manage, delegate, and deliver on SME projects for store and district.
- Develop supply chain integration capabilities for industry standard ERP, CRM and PLM systems for key customer account.
- Plan photoshoots including photography arrangements, booking models and styling looks.
- Improve SLA adherence by developing a tracking system to monitor progress.
- Develop QA and UAT plan for each client and each source system.
- Work on ABAP only, Java only and dual stack configuration landscape.
- SAP security - maintain security roles for both ABAP and JAVA users.
- Execute on project deliverables in alignment with PMLC and SDLC project gateways.
- Lead ETL team to provision risk data in a faster and efficient method.
- Used CCMSPING tool for system availability and pause monitoring of PRD and QA systems.
Solutions manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Solutions Managers are proficient in Healthcare, Cloud, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Organizational skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Solutions Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Healthcare, 10%
Developed first desktop software asset management process for healthcare system and reduced potential of software licensing liability.
- Cloud, 8%
Developed new opportunities and managed migrations of existing solutions to new Cloud environment.
- Project Management, 6%
Utilized Project Management disciplines for highly complex virtual teams consisting of internal and external clients in order to implement procurement solutions.
- Architecture, 5%
Managed, engineered, designed, and streamlined application architecture/enterprise architecture to be data center redundant in case of a failure.
- Business Development, 5%
Coordinated solutions and business development activities with a large network of channel partners, while concurrently managing several key initiatives.
- CRM, 5%
Lead change management initiatives related to enterprise-wide Financial Systems and CRM implementation engaging with both Applications Development and Technical Support resources.
Common skills that a solutions manager uses to do their job include "healthcare," "cloud," and "project management." You can find details on the most important solutions manager responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a solutions manager to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "it managers must develop and implement strategic plans to reach the goals of their organizations." Solutions managers often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide erp solution following architectural modular design and flexibility to manage business changes. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform solutions manager duties is organizational skills. Solutions managers responsibilities require that "some it managers must coordinate the work of several different it departments to make the organization run efficiently." Solutions managers also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "leverage relationships and organizational development tools and techniques to ensure cultural acceptance of new business processes and new technology systems. "
Leadership skills. This is an important skill for solutions managers to perform their duties. For an example of how solutions manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "it managers must lead and motivate it teams or departments so that workers are efficient and effective." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a solutions manager: "worked with various city departments to provide strategic hr leadership and tactical support as needed. ".
Analytical skills. For certain solutions manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a solutions manager rely on this skill, as "it managers must analyze problems and consider and select the best ways to solve them." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what solutions managers do: "facilitated accurate forecasting by tying royalty management system into erp database. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in solutions manager job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what solutions managers do. Solutions manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "it managers must explain their work to top executives and give clear instructions to their subordinates." You can also see how solutions manager duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "designed and implemented enterprise software and business process management solutions for large telecommunications carriers. "
The three companies that hire the most solutions managers are:
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Compare different solutions managers
Solutions manager vs. Information technology director
An information technology (IT) Director is an individual responsible for the management, strategy, and execution of an organization's IT infrastructure. He/She supervises a team of workers while working with the organization's management and external vendors and advisors. Aside from managing workers, an IT director should possess problem-solving skills and an aptitude for organizational thinking. An IT director must also identify new market opportunities and should lead an effort to improve the organization's IT process.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, solutions manager responsibilities require skills like "healthcare," "architecture," "pre sales," and "infrastructure." Meanwhile a typical information technology director has skills in areas such as "network infrastructure," "disaster recovery," "windows server," and "software development." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Information technology directors tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $145,076. In contrast, solutions managers make the biggest average salary, $123,115, in the retail industry.On average, information technology directors reach similar levels of education than solutions managers. Information technology directors are 0.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Solutions manager vs. Senior solutions architect
Senior Solutions Architects are responsible for creating programs or systems that would address the clients' needs. They are expected to be familiar with different tools and systems. This would help them create the best solutions for their clients. Senior Solutions Architects are technologically-savvy. They are expected to be updated with the current trends and innovations in technology. They should also be familiar with these innovations in case these innovations are needed in the company. Senior Solutions Architects are expected to have experience in solving different technical and technological challenges. They should have a solutions-driven mindset.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that solutions manager responsibilities requires skills like "architecture," "customer service," "product development," and "booking." But a senior solutions architect might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "aws," "digital transformation," "analytics," and "web services."
Senior solutions architects earn a higher average salary than solutions managers. But senior solutions architects earn the highest pay in the start-up industry, with an average salary of $139,751. Additionally, solutions managers earn the highest salaries in the retail with average pay of $123,115 annually.senior solutions architects earn higher levels of education than solutions managers in general. They're 7.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solutions manager vs. Technical services manager
A technical services manager is an individual who supervises and collaborates with staff members and clients to implement maintenance and repairs to the information technology (IT) system. Technical services managers must assist the technical operations performed by programmers and IT support experts to ensure that clients' targets are achievable. They must develop policies and strategies that are effective in fixing critical technical and procedural issues. Technical services managers must also ensure that software and hardware components are up-to-date.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, solutions managers are more likely to have skills like "healthcare," "cloud," "architecture," and "business development." But a technical services manager is more likely to have skills like "email marketing," "sql," "continuous improvement," and "r."
Technical services managers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $109,385. Comparatively, solutions managers have the highest earning potential in the retail industry, with an average salary of $123,115.Most technical services managers achieve a lower degree level compared to solutions managers. For example, they're 7.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solutions manager vs. Technical manager
A technical manager is responsible for maintaining the company's information systems database and analyzing technology system matters to ensure its efficiency and accuracy in supporting business operations. Technical managers perform network checks regularly to assess any possible malfunctions that might compromise the company's cybersecurity. They carefully analyze business and clients' specifications on working with systems integration, responding to end-users' concerns and inquiries. A technical manager must have excellent knowledge of the information technology systems industry, as well as a strong command on network codes to conduct adjustments and manage network infrastructure.
Types of solutions manager
Updated January 8, 2025
