Components allow functionality to be broken down into smaller, composable pieces. Smaller pieces of functionality make it easier for users to integrate new data types into documents. Different types of data presented in a single document are live--the user can edit each data type in place without switching documents. The user brings the necessary tools to the data without having to change the current context. Users can create exactly the documents they want without requiring a single application to provide all the functionality they need. Components thereby free users to focus on the task contents, not on how to perform the task.

Components also offer a context for scoping commands related to finding and organizing, and communicating and collaborating. Users can search for data within and across components using content-based retrieval methods.

Developers will benefit from components because they support code reuse. Reuse helps free developers to focus on the functionality they want to provide, while lowering their development costs and increasing the opportunity for greater deployment due to the portable nature of the CommonPoint environment.