What's the difference between an application and component?

An application differs from a component in that the application provides functionality that is used by end users. Components, on the other hand, do not typically provide functionality to end users but rather provide technical functionality to support an application. For example, applications include products like customer portals, project management systems, vacation tracking systems, or a product like SAP@CRM System. Components include operating systems, Web servers, and Web browsers, or a product like SQL Server Database Management Studio.

The application directly supports the company to realize its business capabilities and supports its business processes . Typically, users will know the application by name and the name is typically different than the name of the vendor delivering the application. An application will have its own budget.

The following table serves as an aid when trying to determine whether an object in your IT architecture is an application or a component.

Is it an application or a component?	Application	Component
Does it provide support to business capabilities or business processes	yes	no
Does it provide business benefit on its own?	yes	no
Does it have a service desk?	yes	maybe
Does it have an internal name or business-related name that is known by the end user?	yes	maybe
Can an end user work with it?	yes	maybe
Can it be used in different applications?	no	yes
Is it a standard IT product such as an operating system, infrastructure component, or database?	no	yes