The enterprise computer-based systems employed by the organisations of today can be extremely complex. Not only do they consist of countless hardware and software products from many varied sources, but they often span continents, piggybacking on public networks. These systems are essential for undertaking business and general operations in the modern environment, and yet the ability of organisations to control their evolution is questionable.

The emerging practice of enterprise architecture seeks to control that complexity through the use of a holistic and top-down perspective. However, the toolsets already in use, are very much bottom-up by nature. To overcome the limitations of current enterprise architecture practices, the authors propose the use of the ABACUS methodology and toolset.

The authors conclude that by using ABACUS to analyse software and enterprise systems, architects can guide the design and evolution of architectures based on quantifiable non-functional requirements. Furthermore, hierarchical 3D visualisation provides a meaningful and intuitive means for conceiving and communicating complex architectures.