System Architect

UNICOM System Architect
Company type	Software
Industry	Enterprise architecture software
Predecessor	Popkin Software
Founded	1980s; 45 years ago
Founder	Jan Popkin
Headquarters	United States
Products	Enterprise architecture solution supporting TOGAF, ArchiMate, DoDAF, MODAF, NAF, sysML, UML, BPMN, and relational data modeling
Owner	UNICOM Systems (a branch of UNICOM Global)
Website	www.unicomsi.com/system-architect/

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article System Architect, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 2025

Unicom System Architect serves as an enterprise architecture solution utilized by business and IT teams within corporations and government entities to model business processes along with their supporting systems, applications, and databases. Created by UNICOM Systems, a branch of UNICOM Global, it accommodates various frameworks such as TOGAF, ArchiMate, DoDAF, MODAF, and the NAF, as well as modeling languages including sysML, UML, BPMN, and relational data modeling.

Overview

Enterprise architecture (EA) provides organizations with a comprehensive understanding and planning capability for changes related to business transformation, process optimization, solution design, cloud migration, server consolidation, and service management. System Architect empowers users to develop both graphical and textual representations encompassing all organizational dimensions—covering who, what, where, when, why, and how—to assess the current state and devise future strategies. These models can integrate data sourced from existing infrastructure like network or database designs.

Primary users encompass enterprise architects, business architects, analysts, data architects, and software architects. Various stakeholders—including staff, executives, and vendors—can access architectural insights through generated static websites or direct web repository access. This functionality facilitates informed decision-making by providing visual diagrams, reports, pie charts, and dashboards.

System Architect holds a significant presence in defense architecture development. A 2005 MITRE survey commissioned by the US Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks & Information Integration revealed that 77% of 96 programs constructing DoDAF architectures employed System Architect—48% exclusively and 29% in combination with other tools.

Additionally, this tool is cited in textbooks covering enterprise architecture, UML, and data modeling and has been instrumental in creating models featured within these academic resources.

History

Jan Popkin developed System Architect at Popkin Software as one of the pioneering Windows-based computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools. It later matured into an enterprise architecture modeling platform that allows users to represent organizational elements using multiple notations within a centralized repository for wide distribution.

In April 2005, Telelogic acquired Popkin Software; subsequently, IBM purchased Telelogic in 2008. Following this acquisition, IBM incorporated System Architect into its Rational division—named after its 2003 acquisition of Rational Software. On January 1, 2016, UNICOM Global purchased System Architect from IBM. The original development and support team transitioned to UNICOM Systems to continue advancing the product.

Features

System Architect supports a broad range of leading enterprise architecture frameworks and reference models such as:

TOGAF 10.0
SAFe 6.0 (including User Journey Map, Value Stream, Brainstorming, Ideation, Problem Framing)
UAF 1.2 (latest UPDM)
DoDAF 2.02
ArchiMate v3.1
NATO Architecture Framework (NAF) 4.0
MODAF 1.2
IAF v4 Integrated Architecture Framework
Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework 2.0 (FEAF 2.0) via Federal EA add-on
Technology Business Management Council (TBM)
Zachman Framework

Additional modeling functionalities include:

SysML 1.6
UML 2.5 (comprehensive) and UML 2.0 Lite
BPMN 2.0 with simulation capabilities and BPEL generation
Customer experience journey mapping
Service-oriented architecture (SOA)
Balanced Scorecard methodology
OMG Business Motivation Model through Enterprise Direction diagrams
Cause-Effect and Gap analysis utilizing Network-style Explorer diagrams
Landscape and Heatmap analysis via Landscape-style Explorer diagrams
Analytics, functional decomposition, organizational charts, network architecture modeling, roadmapping

Application Portfolio Management (APM) and IT portfolio management are facilitated through integration with Unicom Focal Point for decision-driven trade-off evaluations.

Data modeling capabilities encompass:

Logical entity-relationship diagrams and physical database schematics
Reverse engineering and generation of database schemas through IBM Infosphere Data Architect integration
Object-relational mapping alongside data flow diagramming
IDEF modeling and Cross-Reference Matrices

The core repository operates on SQL Server (2012/2008/Express), supporting multi-user environments with SQL-based reporting queries and role-based security controls.

Built-in requirements management is available with integration to Rational DOORS.

Extensibility is provided through customizable metamodeling options and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Model-to-model transformations are also supported.

Reporting features include a native SQL-like report generator along with compatibility with IBM Rational Publishing Engine.

Business Intelligence dashboards utilize Cognos BI included with the product and integrate with IBM Rational Insight.

File and asset governance is enabled via integration with IBM Rational Asset Manager.

Web-based access to the EA repository is offered through HTML Generator, SA/Publisher add-on for report-driven websites, as well as live web read/write functionality via SA/XT.

Notable integrations comprise:

IBM Cognos BI 10.2, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau Software through System Architect BI Integrator
Unicom Focal Point with bidirectional connectivity
IBM Tivoli TADDM/CCMDB for customized asset services
WebSphere Business Modeler for BPMN export
Rational DOORS, Rational Software Architect (RSA), Rational Rhapsody, Rational Change—all included without extra charge
Rational Publishing Engine enabling cross-product reporting within the Rational suite
Lanner Witness simulator available as a paid add-on
SAP process architecture supported through IntelliCorp LiveCapture paid add-on; SAP plus other ERP systems like Siebel and PeopleSoft integrated via SA/ERP paid add-on

Microsoft Office integrations feature:

PowerPoint synchronization facilitated by a REST-enabled add-in
Free Visio import using macros
Automated Word and Excel document generation from the EA repository via VBA macros and reporting tools

Technical overview

Graphic representations and their associated data reside within a relational database managed by the latest editions of Microsoft SQL Server or SQL Server Express, collectively termed an encyclopedia. Users enter data through definition dialogs or import it from sources such as spreadsheets, which is then depicted via diagrammatic models. Updates to definitions automatically refresh the corresponding diagrams and vice versa, exemplifying the 'data centric' principle fundamental to Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).

In collaborative network settings, artifact editing is locked for other users, with functionality to check out multiple definitions for exclusive modification or to lock them against changes. For individual use on laptops, the software includes SQL Server Express to support standalone operation.

A query language based on SQL enables users to create reports that address business inquiries—for instance, tracing connections between processes and objectives, mapping applications to processes, analyzing data entity utilization, and tracking change histories.

Data is recorded following customizable metamodels that establish templates and relationships. The tool supports industry-standard metamodels such as TOGAF, DoDAF 2, ArchiMate, SysML, and UML, all of which can be adapted to meet specific organizational requirements.

Models are commonly published online through SA/Publisher, an extension that produces websites from SQL repository queries.

SA/XT

System Architect XT (eXtended Team) serves as a web-based equivalent of the rich client, offering browser access for both reading and writing within the repository. SA XT empowers remote users to:

Browse the repository using an Explorer tree interface similar to the rich client.
Add new definitions, modify existing ones, or remove them.
Develop or alter most types of diagrams.
Generate and execute enterprise architecture reports via a web-based GUI for the SQL reporting engine.
Access dashboards displaying bar charts, pie charts, bubble charts, and tree charts.
Design customized dashboards tailored to individual user preferences.