"Until now, there hasn't been a simple way for developers to experiment in augmented reality, especially for gameplay, " said Adam Wilson, co-founder and chief software architect of Orbotix.

ENGADGET: Orbotix launches new Sphero AR tools to get the ball rolling on development

Raikes and Gates, who will step down from his day-to-day role as Microsoft's chief software architect in July, are so close they have vacation homes near one another.

FORBES: Magazine Article

However, the Kerberos story fits nicely with the future that Bill Gates described when he resigned in mid-January as Microsoft's chief executive to become its chief software architect.

ECONOMIST: Microsoft

He talked about moving into cloud computing, and was aided onstage by chief software architect Ray Ozzie, who talked about flexibility of purpose and output for all kinds of consumers and businesses.

FORBES: Microsoft? Big. Hard.

"Enterprise system integration is a complicated business dominated by massive software companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and IBM, which in turn are supported by thousands of boutique consultancies, " said Craig Materick, chief software architect at ThinkFlood.

ENGADGET: Thinkflood intros RedEye Pro networked home automation controller

Retail banks are facing the same challenges travel agencies confronted a decade ago, says John Schlesinger, chief enterprise architect at Temenos, a core banking software company.

FORBES: Outmoded IT Could "Evaporate" Big Retail Banks - Temenos

As chief systems architect for the company, Kenoyer knew he could combine some clever software with the latest digital signal processor chips to make the same system at a fraction of the cost.

FORBES: Told you so