Center-out business architecture
As technology advances and our reliance on software increases, it becomes crucial to have successful software systems. Software architecture plays a vital role in developing successful software systems. By considering scalability, reliability, maintainability, performance, security, and flexibility, architects can create a robust foundation for applications that meet current and future needs.
Design patterns and architectural styles, such as layered, microservices, event-driven, and service-oriented architecture, serve as building blocks for creating effective software architectures.
Generic software architecture
Software system architecture is broadly grouped into three layers: the presentation layer, the application-business logic layer, and the data access layer.
The presentation layer, also known as the user interface (UI) layer, handles the interaction between the software system and its users. It provides a visually appealing, intuitive, and responsive interface for users to interact with the application.
The business layer, also known as the application layer, or logic layer, encapsulates the core business logic and rules of the software system. It serves as an intermediary between the presentation layer and the back-end systems layer, facilitating the processing and manipulation of data.
The data access layer, also referred to as the back-end systems layer, or infrastructure layer, deals with the storage, retrieval, and processing of data. It includes databases, external services, APIs, and other resources required to support the functionality of the application.
The following diagram shows the three layers of software architecture: Presentation, Application and Business Logic, and Data Access:
Architecture design approach
Any software system has two common approaches to its design and architecture: top-down and bottom-up.
As shown in the following diagram, the top-down approach designs applications specific to channels of interaction. One significant disadvantage of this approach is implementing the same presentation layer logic multiple times to deliver a consistent experience across channels.
The bottom-up approach designs product-centric implementations. The risk with bottom-up is that each system has its own view of the data used by its applications. Legacy systems built in silos attract duplicates of data held in other systems. The same data can then reside in multiple systems. Additionally, different parts of data about a single business entity (for example, a customer) can be in other systems, with no solution providing a single view of the complete entity.
Center-out business architecture
In Pega applications, the Center‑out® architectural approach places business logic at the centre of an application, with a clear separation between the presentation and data access layers. This approach begins with customer outcomes and supports flexible, scalable solutions that adapt to business needs. The Center‑out approach avoids common issues found in channel‑driven or system‑driven design.
The three-step transformation
Center‑out architecture can transform fragmented experiences into unified journeys through the following three steps:
- Define the journey
Begin by designing journeys around customer outcomes. Business logic is centrally managed and supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and Rules. Pega Blueprint™ helps you bring the Center-out philosophy to life by providing you with tools to automatically generate outcome-oriented workflows.
- Plug into front ends
Build once and use them across all channels. With Pega AgentX™ and Pega Digital Experience API (Pega DX API), workflows support experiences across every channel (for example, chatbots, agent desktops, and mobile apps) without any rework. This consistency removes repeated presentation layer development.
- Connect to data sources
Access data from any connected system in real time. Pega Live Data Agents™ integrate with both legacy and modern systems without requiring new implementations. Data is virtualized and available when needed. Each step identifies the data required to complete the workflow.
The following figure shows how organizations can achieve consistency, flexibility, and scalability with Center-out architecture:
It takes Pega-model-based configuration tasks to "activate a channel" and "connect to a data source" to complete the implementation, rather than:
- "Developing a web solution," which too quickly fails to consider how to deliver the same solution as a mobile app or chatbot, or act as a component of another application by using APIs.
- "Implementing a new SAP module," which is limited to the business units that use SAP and might have a limited view of data available from the enterprise.
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