HOPEX IT Architecture Concepts Overview
The information system can be broken down according to two levels of detail: the application and the application system.
Application
An application is a set of software components constituting a coherent whole regarding deployment, functional coverage and IT techniques used.
The application is the management and deployment unit of a set of software components. An application can be deployed on one or several machines. An application meets:
• business requirements
Examples: billing, accounting, equipment management, load/capacity calculation.
• technical requirements
Examples: specific communication interface, access control.
• transverse requirements
Examples: electronic mail, directories, office system applications.
Application System
An application system is an assembly of applications responding to a coherent set of functionalities, implemented by the applications making up the system.
An application system can comprise a suite of applications grouped for commercial reasons (integrated management software packages such as SAP, Oracle Applications, Siebel…).
An application system can also correspond to a group of applications that have the same functional objectives (accounts and financial management system integrating all accounting applications: general, suppliers, analyses, as well as financial and budgetary analysis modules, human resources management systems integrating salaries, time management, career management, etc.).
The application system, like an application, can be the subject of specific developments (carried out internally or bought-in/sub-contracted) or they can be proprietary market products (software packages).
The logical organization and structure of application systems and applications, together with description of their exchanges, constitutes the foundations of the application architecture. Thus, the representation of flows in an application system enables identification of the impact of the retirement of an application on the entire system.