The OBERON kernel is a database which contains the instances of Object classes created in a business context, the properties (fields) associated with those objects, all the logical links with other objects, and the processes that govern their lifecycles. Storage partitions, called ObjectSpaces, are used to organize the data within the database. Objects may have attached some documents stored into distributed file systems (FileSpaces).

OBERON operates on a single computer or in a networked system environment implementing a
client-server architecture: provides database access through web browsers or desktop applications.

The basic structure can be represented with 3 main modules:

Oberon Core
It's a direct interface with the database and the distributed file systems; executes database operations by using standard query language (SQL) queries and manages the file storage/retrieval operations accessing the server local file system or remote file systems with the FTP protocol. It guarantees independence of the business application from database and file systems.
The core module include also the XML processor to generate and parse XML data, the SOAP processor to manage Web Service requests, the Mail processor to send external mail and the SWT graphic toolkit to create chart images. This basic module requires the Java software Development Kit to run and compile java classes.

Oberon J-Interface
Defines java interfaces to access the core functionalities; it includes the java OBERON APIs for direct (SDK) , remote (RMI) and Web Service access.

Oberon OOQL (Oberon Object Query Language)
Translates OOQL commands into SDK java objects and executes the relative core actions throw the J-Interface (API).

Users can access to the platform in two ways: via a Web clients or a Desktop clients.

Desktop clients are stand-alone java applications; the Oberon platform includes the following default SWT clients:

- Enterprise Context Design (Schema Modeling Console)
used to perform administration activities related to the configuration and maintenance of database object spaces and file system locations and to define/modify the Business model (to model the object classes used in a business application, along with their fields, process rules, and users associated with those objects).
This module includes also an OOQL command line interface to help the administrator to set up and test the Oberon components quickly and efficiently.

- Domain Object Manipulation
used to create/edit specific instances of the object classes defined in the business model, to manage their lifecycle status, their connections and attached files.

When access to the database is provided through web browsers (Web clients), a web or Application Server is required. The application server includes servlets and web services used to communicate with the Oberon collaboration core and supports XML and SOA integrations.