Resource sharing allows components to use the resources that are distributed throughout the enterprise. Based on generic organization types, the organizational architecture is a means of defining required services, data types, and information flows. USIS organizations' missions, required information, produced information, and required performance within timelines drive the architecture's technical needs. The technical architecture contains bundles of common functionality and standardization interface points. It expresses needs independent from capabilities, allowing for technical requirements definition.
Elements are technical building blocks defined by the services that they provide.
The integrated architecture defines the complete USIS by assigning elements to organization types and allowing for variable performance between elements and organizations. These elements are defined in terms of the services they provide, the interfaces they support, and their performance. The interfaces describe the points at which interoperability is achieved through standards. The distinctive feature of USIS 2000 is its independence from fielded systems. Unlike a traditional architectural view which describes the connectivity between specific systems and types of equipment, USIS 2000 describes an architecture based upon an arbitrary collection of systems and components that communicate, provide services and exchange information in prescribed ways.