The first dimension core entities are assigned to are the different layers of an enterprise architecture model. The Technology layer offers infrastructural services (e.g., processing, storage and communication services) needed to run applications, realized by computer and communication hardware and system software.The Application layer supports the business layer with application services which are realized by (software) application components.The Business layer offers products and services to external customers, which are realized in the organization by business processes performed by business actors and roles.ArchiMate distinguishes three main layers: The higher layers use services that are provided by the lower layers. A layered view provides a natural way to look at service-oriented models. It is what ArchiMate makes an Enterprise Architecture language in the first place, because you can model all these different aspects in a single coherent model. The core layers have been there since the beginning of ArchiMate.
The implementation and migration elements of the ArchiMate language support the implementation and migration of architectures through the Opportunities and Solutions, Migration Planning, and Implementation Governance phases of the TOGAF ADM.
They are also relevant to the Architecture Change Management phase of the TOGAF ADM, since the phase deals with changing requirements. The strategy and motivation elements in the ArchiMate language can be used to support the Requirements Management, Preliminary, and Architecture Vision phases of the TOGAF ADM, which establish the high level business goals, architecture principles, and initial business requirements. The Business, Application, and Technology Layers support the description of the Business, Information Systems, and Technology Architecture domains defined by the TOGAF framework, as well as their interrelationships. The Figure below shows a simplified mapping of how the ArchiMate language can be used in relation to the phases of the TOGAF Architecture Development Method (ADM). The ArchiMate language consists of the ArchiMate core language, which includes the Business, Application, and Technology Layers, along with elements to model the strategy and motivation underlying an architecture, as well as its implementation and migration.
The figure below shows the elements of the ArchiMate Core framework. The standard has been designed to be as compact as possible, yet still usable for most enterprise architecture modeling needs. The OpenGroup ArchiMate language provides a graphical language for representing enterprise architectures over time, including strategy, transformation and migration planning, as well as the motivation and rationale for the architecture.