"A component is simply a chunk of software that performs work or provides information within a wider application. A component could be the user interface on an order entry system, the rules for how and when to increase a customer's credit limit, or a data warehouse detailing every customer transaction conducted during the past five years.
"According to several IT managers and analysts, to build a scalable Web architecture, managers should think of components not in terms of the software on which they're based but in terms of the services they provide."