Architecture Overview

The project employs a microservices architecture, organizing major components as loosely coupled services to enhance modularity and maintainability. Core components include frontend web applications, backend microservices exposing RESTful APIs, various databases for persistent storage, and integrations with external platforms or services. Communication among components primarily occurs via synchronous HTTP/HTTPS requests between clients and APIs, while asynchronous messaging or event-driven mechanisms handle inter-service coordination and workflows. Deployment leverages containerization technologies such as Docker, orchestrated within cloud-based environments using Kubernetes or similar platforms, complemented by automated CI/CD pipelines to ensure streamlined builds and releases. To support scalability and resilience, the system incorporates load balancers distributing traffic across replicated service instances, message queues cushioning asynchronous workloads, and failover strategies to maintain high availability. Security is enforced through robust authentication protocols (e.g., OAuth, JWT), role-based authorization schemas controlling access, and rigorous data protection practices including encryption in transit and at rest, ensuring a secure and compliant operational model adaptable across diverse technology stacks.

Component Breakdown

• Component Name: Frontend Web App
  Responsibilities: Provides the user interface for end users to interact with the application, handles user input and presents data.
  Interactions: Communicates with the Backend API via HTTP/HTTPS requests for data retrieval and updates.
  Technology Stack: React, Angular, or Vue.js (common frontend frameworks).

• Component Name: Backend API Service
  Responsibilities: Implements business logic, processes client requests, performs data validation, and manages workflow.
  Interactions: Receives requests from the Frontend Web App, interacts with the Database for data operations, and communicates with external services if needed.
  Technology Stack: Node.js with Express or similar frameworks.

• Component Name: Database
  Responsibilities: Stores persistent data including user information, application state, and transactional records.
  Interactions: Accessed exclusively by the Backend API Service through queries and transactions.
  Technology Stack: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or other relational/non-relational databases.

• Component Name: External Integrations
  Responsibilities: Interfaces with third-party services such as payment gateways, authentication providers, or messaging platforms.
  Interactions: Backend API Service communicates with these services via REST APIs or SDKs.
  Technology Stack: Depends on third-party provider (e.g., Stripe API, OAuth providers).

These components are logically ordered from the user-facing frontend through backend processing to data storage and external integrations.

Integration & Data Flow

Data moves through the system in a structured flow beginning with an internal client or user initiating an API request targeting specific provider-related operations, such as creating folders, managing files, or handling chats. The request first passes through middleware that verifies internal permissions, extracts metadata (organization ID, provider ID, authorization tokens), and confirms the existence and validity of the organization and its access rights for the specified provider.

Within the system, internal services communicate primarily via synchronous HTTP REST API calls using Express.js endpoints. The system uses context objects to propagate request metadata for logging, authorization, and tracing throughout the request lifecycle. Provider-specific service clients are dynamically resolved from internal maps (e.g., supportProviderClientMap, docsProviderClientMap, chatProviderClientMap), abstracting the interaction with external or internal provider systems.

External integrations involve communication with third-party provider systems responsible for document management, support tickets, or chat services. Although exact protocols are often abstracted, common interactions include HTTP-based API calls (typically RESTful JSON) or SDK method calls provided by the respective providers. For example, document providers handle folder and file operations via provider clients, while support providers (e.g., Zendesk) expose support tickets through REST APIs accessed internally. Chat providers are integrated similarly, with chat session retrieval and messaging facilitated via provider clients tied to an organization's access rights.

Data persistence is centralized around a MongoDB database storing organization records, access rights, and metadata. The system queries MongoDB using the official Node.js MongoDB driver and BSON-formatted queries over TCP. Organization data retrieval and updates occur when validating access rights or modifying provider associations. Actual document or chat data often resides in external provider systems rather than within MongoDB, which serves primarily as the authoritative source for organizational and access control information.

Overall, the data flow transitions from client requests through internal permission checks and context setups, to provider client invocations performing operations against external providers or the internal database. All asynchronous and synchronous interactions are governed by strict business rules ensuring secure, authorized, and auditable integration with third-party services, while MongoDB acts as the source of truth for organizational contexts and permissions.