Frequently Asked Questions
The MACH Alliance was founded in March 2020 by five companies: Amplience, commercetools, Contentstack, EPAM Systems and Valtech. They came together to build the future of digital commerce and experience and haven't looked back.
The MACH Alliance is a member-driven organization. Strategy is set by the Executive Board. Any member can apply to be a member of the Board. Seats are elected by the membership on an annual basis. The Board then elects a President, Vice President, Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. In support, there is a Central Team employed by The MACH Alliance to run the organization on a day-to-day basis. This team is led by the Managing Director.
Members play a key role in driving that strategy and the Alliance's programmes and projects through our Councils and Panels:
Growth Council - responsible for sustainable and purposeful growth of the Alliance
Tech Council - responsible for driving our technical remit
Marketing and Community Council - responsible for awareness and partnerships
Application Panel and Ambassador Panel - to ensure criteria and neutrality are adhered to throughout
Use the Insights and Newsroom sections of this site for thought leadership, attend our events and access our resources here.
The MACH Alliance advocates for composable technologies, challenging the position of long-established monolithic enterprise suites. By joining, you can tap into a peer network comprised of thought leaders in the composable space, validate your business’s innovation and role in the transition away from monoliths, and take part in shaping the future of MACH as it moves from early adopters to mainstream enterprise usage.
As an Ambassador and someone who loves to evangelise about MACH, you are able to do so at scale and with the support of a global organization whilst also connecting with a like-minded network of fellow representatives.
As an ISV, 100% of your product offering/portfolio must be MACH compliant. Where an ISV has a legacy product or is moving to a MACH architecture please see our Legacy Terms.
Whilst not mandatory, we encourage members to contribute actively to Councils and Working Groups (available to anyone in the Company).
We encourage members to run MACH Alliance Events and contribute content and thought leadership. We encourage members to create other member connections and contribute to member discussions. In this way, you'll maximise ROI for your business and the impact of the Alliance on the broader industry as a whole.
The MACH Alliance is most definitely a global organization and our members are based all over the world. If you would like to play a role in activating the Alliance and raising awareness of MACH in your region get in touch.
MACH events are the heart of our community and you can find all upcoming events on the Events page. Through events we are able to educate, evangelise, connect with peers, create thought leadership, raise awareness and share success. We have three types of events:
- MACH Alliance Conferences and Special Events
- Member Events - organise your own MACH event by following our guidelines available in the member portal
- Future Commerce Monthly MACH Alliance Dinners - As a MACH Alliance member you can sponsor and attend this international series
For Standard members of the MACH Alliance, one person can sit on each of the Councils (Tech, Growth, Marketing & Community). For Enterprise members this rises to two per Council. You can also put forward anyone in the company to sit on one of our Panels or participate in our many Working Groups. Inclusion will be decided on best fit but showing enthusiasm and commitment are a big part of it!
The entire application process typically takes between 2 and 3 months.
Applying: We respond to all applications within five working days.
- Discovery call: Once we have a final application and signed NDA we will organise a discovery call within ten working days. Once that call has taken place the Admission Panel will review your application within a further ten working days.
Tech check: A 1-hour tech check call should take place within 15 business days of being requested.
Final evaluation: A recommendation will then be made to the board and you will receive a final response within ten working days.
No, there is no need to reapply. Membership is automatically renewed unless either side requests a termination. If you are a start up you will need to re-apply after 12 months.
MACH Alliance retains the right to an annual audit to ensure you comply with its criteria. We may also update the joining criteria to remain up to date with current industry standards. If for any reason you no longer remain compliant we will alert you to discuss.
We typically suggest a minimum period of 6 months until you next apply. However, you will have had specific feedback from us so we would recommend you do not reapply until you have made headway in those areas.
Yes, and we have recently made some small changes to our criteria. Moving forwards we will continue to reassess our criteria on an annual basis to ensure we align with current MACH thinking.
From January, 2023 we will be conducting an annual audit of members to check that all meet our criteria, whether due to a change in our criteria or a change in their business.
Ambassadors include:
- Technology-focused individuals in leadership roles, or passionate advocates, employed at companies that are utilizing and/or transitioning to MACH technologies, with a strong preference on individuals that have hands-on or practical experience with MACH adoption.
- Self-employed thought leaders including journalists and analysts.
An Ambassador commits to:
- Writing at least one piece of content for the MACH Alliance per year
- Participating in at least one MACH Alliance Event per year
- Generating, distributing and promoting the MACH Alliance philosophy and content
- Offering availability on an as-needed basis to act as a sounding board for various council discussions
- Attending an annual general meeting
- Agreeing to publish the name, photo, and bio on digital and print materials of the MACH Alliance
The Ambassador programme is run by our Ambassador panel, made up of members of the Alliance.
The panel will be looking for:
- Hands-on or practical experience with MACH adoption, concepts, and technologies
- That you have delivered significant results by using MACH technology
- Existing MACH evangelism via published content
- Diversity, not just in gender and ethnicity but in region and area of expertise To apply visit the application page here.