---
title: "The Alpine Intelligence Stack"
canonical_url: https://alpineintelligence.ch/en/blog/stack/
language: en
---
*February 1, 2026*

# The Alpine Intelligence Stack

A reference architecture for AI applications: interface, business logic, AI processing, security and data integration with distinct responsibilities.

Updated on 5 September 2026

The **Alpine Intelligence Stack** is a reference architecture for AI applications. I use it to plan the user interface, application logic, AI processing and data integration, with security requirements considered across every layer. The Intelligent Archive is an application built on this architecture.

## Five layers with distinct responsibilities

The five layers describe different technical tasks. Which components they require depends on the application.

### User interface

Employees ask questions and work with results through the user interface. Depending on the task, this may be search, chat or a business application. For the archive, employees need to be able to read the retrieved information and review generated text.

### Application logic

Application logic controls the workflow. It determines which information is needed, when the model is called, and when employees need to review or approve a result.

### AI processing

This layer covers the models used and the preparation of information for them. In the archive, semantic search identifies suitable passages and supplies them for the answer. This method is called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Other methods, such as knowledge graphs, may be added depending on the application.

### Security

Authentication, authorization and logging concern every layer. Someone who cannot read a document in the source system should not receive its contents through an AI answer. Access rights must therefore also be respected and tested when documents are retrieved and processed.

### Data integration

This layer connects document stores, databases, existing applications or code repositories. It governs how content is updated and how its source information and access rights are retained.

## Plan operations and changes

The application can run on the company’s own infrastructure, in a private cloud or with a cloud provider. The choice depends in part on where data may be stored and processed and who will run the application.

Changes can be assigned to a technical responsibility: a model change initially concerns AI processing; a new document source concerns data integration. Both can affect the entire application, so answer quality, permissions and response times need testing afterwards.

## Example: The Intelligent Archive

In the [Intelligent Archive](https://alpineintelligence.ch/en/intelligent-archive/), employees ask a question through the user interface. The application retrieves relevant content from connected documents and supplies it to the model for its answer. Access rights apply throughout the process. A single enquiry can therefore be used to test whether the components work together as intended.

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