🌍 Platform Layers
The Atlas platform has four core parts plus a set of external services. This page gives a plain-English breakdown of what each part does and, critically, what markets can and cannot configure.
When Atlas Wiki refers to Byte Capabilities, the primary scope is the Atlas Commerce + Portal picture: Atlas as KFC's global front-end, Byte Helium as its Yum! front-end foundation, Byte Commerce + Byte Portal as the commerce and configuration layer behind it, and Byte Connect as the middle layer for non-Byte POS markets. Detailed operating steps for Byte Portal still belong in the Admin Portal Guide.
Byte Helium renders but doesn't own most things. Pricing, eligibility, state, and content all live in the backend or external services. When something looks wrong in the app, the fix is almost always in the backend configuration — not the front-end.
Core Responsibilities
| Part | Role | What Markets Configure |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas on Byte Helium | KFC's global front-end, built on Yum!'s shared front-end foundation and branded for KFC customers | Market behavior is configuration-driven, not separately re-built per market |
| Byte Commerce | Processes every order — pricing, tax, payment, POS injection; non-Byte POS markets require Byte Connect | Via Byte Portal — promos, taxes, payment routing, market operations |
| Byte Portal | Admin tool paired with Commerce for markets and ops teams | Store hours, menus, promos, taxes, payments, refunds, users |
| Byte Connect | Middle integration layer between Byte Commerce and non-Byte POS environments | Market/vendor mapping and integration readiness for non-Byte POS order flows |
| Menu Service | Provides item catalogue, prices, options | Via Byte Menu authoring tool (outside Atlas) |
| Identity / SSO | Manages customer accounts and sign-in sessions | OTP, Google, Apple — configured per market |
| PSP / Vault | Handles card tokenisation and payment capture | PSP profiles configured in Byte Portal |
| Loyalty & Promo Engine | Evaluates offer eligibility, rewards, challenges | Promotions authored in Byte Portal |
| Order Tracking | Provides real-time delivery status | Optional per market; depends on 3P logistics |
| POS / KDS | Receives digital orders in-store | Integration configured per market/vendor; non-Byte POS markets connect through Byte Connect |
What Each Core Part Does in More Detail
Atlas on Byte Helium — Front-End
Atlas is KFC's global front-end. It is built on Byte Helium, Yum!'s enterprise design system and front-end foundation, then skinned and shaped to reflect the KFC brand and customer journey. Atlas receives data from Byte Commerce, Menu Service, CMS, and external services, and renders it into the web and app experience customers actually use. Atlas does not calculate prices, does not evaluate promo eligibility, and does not own order state. It is the customer-facing front-end layer built on Helium.
Byte Commerce
Byte Commerce is the engine behind every transaction. When a customer adds an item to their cart, Byte Commerce calculates the price. When they apply a promo code, Byte Commerce validates eligibility server-side. When they pay, Byte Commerce orchestrates the payment intent through the PSP. When an order is placed, Byte Commerce injects it to the in-store POS/KDS. Byte Commerce talks directly to Byte POS; if a market is not using Byte POS, Byte Connect is the required middle layer to the market POS. Nothing transactional happens without Byte Commerce.
Do not assume Atlas can directly integrate with any market POS. The supported mental model is Atlas -> Byte Commerce -> Byte POS, or Atlas -> Byte Commerce -> Byte Connect -> POS for non-Byte POS markets.
Byte Portal — Admin Control Plane
Byte Portal is where every market-level configuration lives, alongside the Commerce layer it supports. Markets configure their stores (hours, state, POS mapping), menus (assigning published menu versions, applying patches and price overrides), promotions (eligibility rules, codes, budgets, scoping), tax profiles, payment routing rules, users and access roles, and operational settings. Without correct Portal configuration, markets cannot go live.
Byte Connect
Byte Connect is not the customer-facing product and not the primary admin surface, but it is still part of the Byte stack in Atlas whenever a market POS is not Byte POS. It handles the integration bridge between Byte Commerce and the market POS environment, and it becomes part of launch readiness, order routing, support boundaries, and troubleshooting for those markets.
Menu Service / Byte Menu
Menu authoring — creating items, setting descriptions and images, managing prices and options — happens in Byte Menu, a separate tool outside the Atlas platform. Byte Portal assigns already-published menu versions to markets and channels. Byte Portal can apply patches and overrides on top of a published menu, but it cannot create menu content from scratch.
External Services
The platform depends on a set of external services that are integrated per market: Identity/SSO for customer authentication, a PSP for payment processing, a Loyalty & Promo Engine for offer evaluation, an Order Tracking service for delivery status, a CMS for brand and legal content, and a Geo/Store Locator service. Each of these must be configured and tested per market before launch.
- Configuring stores and menus in Byte Portal → Admin Portal Guide: Stores and Menus
- Configuring promotions → Admin Portal Guide: Promotions