Enterprise Architecture Repository
EA/CMDB is the native EA Repository for the Clara/EA framework. Unique in the market in combining a complete business hierarchy — Market → Niche → Brand → Legal Vehicle → Product → Channel — with a high-performance native graph, automatic infrastructure discovery, and LLM-powered IaC generation. Positioned as an enterprise-grade alternative to LeanIX, Ardoq, and Alfabet, anchored by an open-source edition.
What it is
Operational CMDBs — ServiceNow, BMC, Device42 — were born for ITSM: incident, change, technical inventory. They serve the help desk, the NOC, the change manager. They answer "is this server up?".
EA Repositories — LeanIX, Ardoq, Alfabet, Mega HOPEX — were born for enterprise architecture and strategic decisions. They serve the enterprise architect, the CTO, the CIO. They answer "what capabilities support this business product?".
EA/CMDB belongs to the second segment — and goes further: it is an EA Repository with deeper business hierarchy than any competitor, with automatic infrastructure discovery that no traditional EA tool delivers, and with LLM-powered IaC generation that no competitor even plans.
"EA/CMDB models the business itself across its entire value hierarchy — connecting technology to the top of the pyramid. Not a difference of degree. A difference of category.
| Dimension | Operational CMDB | EA Repository (EA/CMDB) |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | IT operations (ITSM) | Enterprise architecture and strategic decisions |
| Primary user | Help desk, NOC, Change Manager | Enterprise Architect, CTO, CIO, Strategy |
| Central question | "Is this server up?" | "Which capabilities support this business product?" |
| Data model | Technical CIs (server, network, software) | Business Capability, Application, Legal Entity, Market |
| Horizon | Present / operational | Present + future (roadmap, target-state) |
| Examples | ServiceNow, BMC Helix, Device42 | LeanIX, Ardoq, Alfabet, Mega HOPEX, EA/CMDB |
Capabilities
Six capabilities that, combined, exist in no EA Repository on the market. No competitor delivers this set — and several of them, individually, are unique in the global segment.
Market → Segment → Niche → Brand → Legal Vehicle → Product → Channel → Modality, connected as first-class graph entities. No one descends to that level: LeanIX and Alfabet stop at Business Capability. The only platform to model the business itself across its entire value hierarchy.
Native graph database — not emulated via foreign keys. 29 typed edge types, multiple named graphs, multi-hop traversal in AQL. Only Ardoq uses a native graph among competitors — without our depth of business model.
Native Terraform HCL parser, Kubernetes manifest ingestion, Entra ID/LDAP sync, AWS/GCP cost ingestion. For teams living in IaC, it eliminates the chronic staleness of EA tools — the repository updates itself. Nonexistent in LeanIX, Alfabet, Ardoq.
The only EA Repository on the market that executes: it generates Terraform and Ansible from the modeled inventory. The architect designs the platform → the system produces IaC ready for review and apply. End of the "documentation → manual implementation" cycle. No global parallel.
Cloud cost distributed across the Clara/EA hierarchy — the only platform able to answer "what is the total AWS cost to sustain the Visa-brand consumer credit card niche?" via graph traversal. Competitors stop at cost per application or per capability.
VPC, subnet, IP allocation, and physical cabling in the same graph as the business architecture. Skills per employee linked to the org chart and inventory. Temporal snapshots of organizational structure. Capabilities traditional EA Repositories consider out of scope — first-class here.
Architecture
Implements the entire Clara/EA hierarchy as entity and relationship types — Market, Niche, Brand, Legal Vehicle, Product, Channel, Capability, Application, Database, Cloud Resource, IP, Person, Skill. ArangoDB as native graph, AQL for queries.
Workers (Temporal) continuously ingest: Terraform HCL parser, Kubernetes discovery, Entra ID/LDAP sync, AWS/GCP billing ingestion, ITSM sync (GLPI, ServiceNow, Jira). REST API for programmatic feeding. Plugin SDK for custom connectors.
Query APIs, modular MFEs (Topology, Observability, FinOps, Org Chart), TIME Matrix, Technology Radar, executive dashboards. Worker-iac generates Terraform/Ansible via LLM. Inbound/outbound webhooks, native multi-tenancy, i18n PT-BR / EN / ES.
Integrations
Native connectors for the main sources of truth in modern environments: cloud, IaC, ITSM, identity, repositories. Open Plugin SDK for custom integrations. Certified market connectors on the roadmap.
Comparison
Direct comparison with the three highest-maturity EA Repositories in the global market. Consolidated score: EA/CMDB 4.2★, above LeanIX (3.7★) and Ardoq (3.9★) on business model depth; below Alfabet (4.4★) on formal EA modeling. Unique differentiators below.
| Capability | EA/CMDB | LeanIX | Ardoq | Alfabet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hierarchy Market → Niche → Brand → Legal Vehicle | ★★★★★ Unbeatable | Não modela | Não modela | Partial |
| Native graph (not emulated) | ★★★★★ ArangoDB | Relational | ★★★★★ Yes | Relational |
| Automatic Terraform/K8s discovery | ★★★★★ Native | No | No | No |
| IaC Generation via LLM | ★★★★★ Unique | No | No | No |
| FinOps from cloud to market niche | ★★★★★ Unique | Per application | No | Per capability |
| IPAM + Network Cabling | ★★★★★ Unique in segment | Out of scope | Out of scope | Out of scope |
| Integrated Skills Management | ★★★★★ Yes | No | No | Limited |
| Temporal Org Snapshots | ★★★★★ Yes | No | No | Limited |
| Formal ArchiMate / TOGAF | Gap (interop. on roadmap) | Partial | Partial | ★★★★★ Native |
| Collaborative surveys | Gap (P1 roadmap) | ★★★★★ Strong | ★★★★★ Strong | Partial |
| Open-source enterprise | ★★★★★ Unique | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Reference annual cost | Community free · SaaS from $390/mo | $80k–$300k | $60k–$200k | $150k–$500k |
Comparative analysis based on internal market study (Apr/2026). LeanIX (SAP), Ardoq, Alfabet (OpenText/Software AG), and Mega HOPEX are marks of their respective owners. Full comparison (including Mega HOPEX, Bizzdesign, BOC ADOIT, iServer, and Planview) available on request.
Positioning
Acknowledged gaps. Public competitive roadmap — ArchiMate interoperability, collaborative surveys, and target-state diff in development.
Next step
45-minute session: Clara/EA hierarchy loaded with your vocabulary, discovery running against a sample Terraform, live IaC generation, and the navigable architecture graph. For EA teams, CTOs, and enterprise architects.