Question

Explain the role of different technical layers in a business application.

Answer 1

The yellow layer is the business layer, the red green and grey layers are the information components data, application and infrastructure.

The business layer is where value is created, the information technology layer enables the business layer.
There are many business models where only the yellow layer is present (the value creation) and where there is no interaction with information systems.

Someone selling products on the market in a non-western country will not have any information system, but is creating value for it’s customers who return money in exchange of this value (the products).

This is the easiest way to distinguish between the business layer and the information technology layer: the business layer is concerned with value creation, the information technology layers with enabling or optimising the value creation.

Answer 2

Definition - What does Application Layer mean?

The application layer is a layer in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven-layer model and in the TCP/IP protocol suite. It consists of protocols that focus on process-to-process communication across an IP network and provides a firm communication interface and end-user services.

Techopedia explains Application Layer

The application layer is the seventh layer of the OSI model and the only one that directly interacts with the end user.

The application layer provides many services, including:

Simple Mail Transfer ProtocolFile transferWeb surfingWeb chatEmail clientsNetwork data sharingVirtual terminalsVarious file and data operations

The application layer provides full end-user access to a variety of shared network services for efficient OSI model data flow. This layer has many responsibilities, including error handling and recovery, data flow over a network and full network flow. It is also used to develop network-based applications.

More than 15 protocols are used in the application layer, including File Transfer Protocol, Telnet, Trivial File Transfer Protocol and Simple Network Management Protocol.

Its major network device or component is the gateway