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Spotlight on Enablers: How MongoDB Delivers the Foundation for MACH Adoption

Heightened customer expectations are disrupting industries around the world. As consumers expect personalized messages from companies, real-time access to data, and accurate search results with or without typos, traditional technology suites struggle to keep up. The MACH Alliance was formed to advocate for composable, truly open and future-proof architecture that is microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native SaaS, and headless. The Alliance’s momentum is surging, and while there are a host of companies delivering MACH-based technology, there is often less coverage of what the approach demands. <h2></h2>Enablers: Providing the Ecosystem for MACH Architecture<h3></h3>The Enabler membership category applies to organizations that are heavily utilized by MACH organizations to deliver a MACH service or technology. They are enabling a MACH provider and the ecosystem, but don’t offer a direct MACH solution. While a Vendor member produces an application that enterprises can buy, an Enabler member delivers a service or technology that provides the foundations for enterprises wanting to build application architecture in line with MACH principles. MongoDB joined the MACH Alliance in January 2022 as one of the first Enabler members. As a leading cloud-native general purpose database platform, MongoDB has long been an advocate of microservice architecture enabling modern, flexible, and composable technology ecosystems for its 40,000 customers, spanning 100 countries. Along with the MACH Alliance, MongoDB shares the common belief that the open architecture of modern software will propel current and future digital experiences. These new digital experiences require unprecedented personalized capabilities, delivered at scale, weaving a mesh of complementary microservices drawing data from multiple sources. <h3></h3>Building Your Future Tech Stack with a MACH Enabler<h3></h3>We spoke with Genevieve Broadhead, Principal for Retail EMEA – Industry Solutions, about why the Enabler category is an important one for companies considering MACH for their future tech stack. “The MACH Alliance has been a really positive experience for MongoDB over the past year. We participate in the Tech, Marketing & Growth councils of the Alliance and have seen great output. The ability to collaborate with the best and brightest like-minded individuals is extremely valuable in helping us to understand and refine our thinking,” she said.Sharing specific industry knowledge is one of the key elements of the movement, Ms. Broadhead added. “It's great to network with thought leaders in the technology space and also share our experiences and guidance with new members. As a data company we’re naturally asked about the data layer: ‘How do you build a data layer to support a MACH Architecture?’ or ‘What are the requirements of a MACH data layer?’”For a MACH architecture to be a success, it's vital that the data layer also follows the principles and guidance of the MACH Alliance. “The architecture doesn’t end at the application layer. If you’re building a stack that wants to reap the benefits of headless or microservices, i.e. that is capable of increasing innovation, then it follows that changes to the data should be able to be made in an iterative and non-disruptive manner.” MongoDB’s flexible document model allows this to occur at runtime, so that the data layer doesn’t hinder innovation, and is capable of the performance a modern application requires. As technology continues to enable transformative capabilities and boost operational efficiency, the demand for a scalable, cloud-native, data platform to underpin these technologies continues to grow. <h3></h3>MACH Goes Mainstream with Surging Adoption<h3></h3>We asked Ms. Broadhead how she feels MACH understanding has advanced among end users over the past few years, and if they’re seeing an increase in adoption.“I’m seeing MACH get closer and closer to mainstream adoption, especially in the retail industry, where arguably the MACH movement was born. Concepts like ‘headless’ are now commonplace in discussions with IT decision makers and architects and I’m seeing a spread of the principles to new workloads,” she said. “Having seen the initial success, these principles are being embedded into those same retailers’ supply chain optimization programs. Other industries are now getting on board. The next wave of MACH architectures will cross industries into telecoms, healthcare, financial services etc.”Raising awareness is a key objective of the MACH Alliance, and as Enablers, MongoDB are key supporters, helping to spread the word by participating in marketing campaigns alongside its independent software vendor (ISV) partners like commercetools and Ampliance in the retail industry. “Retail is a huge market, with both retailers modernizing, building in-house, and partnering with retail ISVs like commercetools and Ampliance, who have built their products on MongoDB. It is very exciting to be bringing the greatest MACH thought leadership together to help spread best practices across the industry.”So, would Ms. Broadhead recommend membership of the Alliance to other Enabler companies? “Absolutely! We’re building together the next wave in technology transformation. As technology enablers, we have insight into what is possible and what will be required for the future of enterprise architecture - working together ensures the best result. Good architecture increases innovation, and that’s a message that we want to help the MACH Alliance spread.”To join the movement and sign up as an Enabler, check out the <a href="https://machalliance.org/application-member" target="_blank">members page</a>.

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MongoDB joined the MACH Alliance in January 2022 as one of the first Enabler members. As a leading cloud-native general purpose database platform, MongoDB has long been an advocate of microservice architecture enabling modern, flexible, and composable technology ecosystems for its 40,000 customers, spanning 100 countries. 

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<h4>Inability to Innovate is Stifling Competitiveness in a Time of Economic Volatility</h4>Key Finding From MACH Alliance Annual Survey of Global IT Decision Makers<ul><li>Legacy is still holding companies back, with one in five companies spending over half their IT budget on upgrades</li><li>87% of those who have increased MACH are more responsive and ahead of the competition</li><li>US leadership lacks understanding of MACH benefits despite the biggest legacy debt</li></ul><h2></h2>MACH Alliance, the group of independent tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems, today released the results of its third-annual Enterprise MACHified research, conducted by independent research firm <a href="https://melresearch.co.uk/" target="_self">MEL Research</a> in December and January.The study surveyed 500 tech leaders from Australia, France, Germany, UK and the US to understand how MACH investment has accelerated over the past 12 months and what impact that is having on organizations’ ability to thrive in a difficult economy. The output shows the urgency to innovate in order to stay ahead in a rapidly changing business environment, with MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, Headless) as a means to respond to economic volatility.MACH-advanced companies move fasterFour in five decision makers state that volatility in the economy has impacted their organizations’ attitude toward MACH. This has been one of the key drivers behind 85 percent of organizations increasing the percentage of their MACH infrastructure in the past 12 months. Those companies cite increased ability to respond to changes in the market faster, to build and implement new functionality quicker and reduced costs. They’re also more likely to say their infrastructure is keeping up with customer demands and that they’re ahead of the competition than those with lower MACH adoption rates.US is catching up with EuropeA lack of board/leadership support is more likely to be a barrier to MACH adoption in the US than the overall sample (32% versus 27%). This could signal that MACH is facing a perception challenge in the US among non-IT professionals, indicating the need for education and awareness to highlight the value and benefits it can provide. At the same time, US organizations which believe they are significantly ahead of their competition are more likely to have significantly increased the proportion of their infrastructure which is MACH (47 percent), than those who haven’t (26 percent).While the survey shows a decline in the proportion of budgets that are being spent on technology upgrades since 2022 in the UK and Germany (from 39 percent to 32 percent in the UK, and from 36 percent to 31 percent in Germany), this has increased in the US (from 37 percent to 41 percent). Companies in the US also report the largest proportion of legacy tech. With 41 percent of organizations’ IT ecosystems still being legacy on average, there is a clear need for tools which can enable them to improve the ability to upgrade infrastructures at speed.<figure style = "margin: auto; text-align: center;width: 582px;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltb9eff0ec0532965e/blt6d1a49239b56de66/6419ca343c69fb10338054fc/Screenshot_2023-03-21_at_16.13.29.png" /></figure><h3></h3>Time and money spent on upgrades is an expensive ongoing problemThe research found that not much has changed from a year ago when it comes to the time and money being spent on upgrade projects. Upgrading is evidently a burden which organizations are struggling to solve with over a quarter running more than 20 projects each year. One in five are spending over half of their IT budget on upgrades, and the same number say upgrades are taking up over half of IT teams’ time. In 2021, respondents said 40 percent of their teams’ time was spent delivering front-office upgrades, indicating that the impact of operating with outdated tech is snowballing. <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-01-18-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-it-spending-to-grow-2-percent-in-2023" target="_self">Gartner has forecast</a> that global enterprises will spend about USD $856 billion on software in 2023. If a quarter of that was spent on upgrades, that would represent more than $200 billion that could be spent on innovation and improvement of digital experiences.Investment is increasingly moving from front- to back-endThe research found front-end solutions are still receiving the most focus for investment, however, this is changing year-over-year. While 54 percent prioritized front-end investment in the 2022 report, just 39 percent stated this in 2023. In countries interviewed in both the 2022 and 2023 reports, the proportion who believe their front-office infrastructure is ahead of the competition has fallen from 75 percent to 68 percent. Organizations with 25,000 or more employees have the lowest level of adoption of MACH in their front-end infrastructure and take a more long term view on making MACH investments.“The data tells us that too many companies are stuck keeping the upgrade wheel turning. If you add the cost of time and business stand still, the absolute cost is much higher,” said Casper Rasmussen, MACH Alliance President. “At the same time, fewer companies see themselves as agile early adopters, and fewer also see themselves as being ahead of the competition compared to our research a year ago.“The pace of transformation is relentless but the cost of not innovating is much higher. While transitioning to MACH is no small undertaking, continuing the status quo is an ongoing, big undertaking, especially for larger organizations, which needs addressing. We’re not going to wipe legacy out of the picture overnight. However, those moving toward MACH are better equipped to mitigate future obstacles.”What’s ahead and methodologyThe research was executed by independent market research leader MEL Research. Respondent titles included CIO, CTO, Vice President, Senior Vice President and Senior Manager. All represent organizations with at least 5,000 employees and have a revenue of at least $500 million annually.

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MACH Alliance, the group of independent tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems, today released the results of its third-annual Enterprise MACHified research, conducted by independent research firm MEL Research in December and January. 

MACH Annual Research

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MACHified your jargon yet?We get it. With MACH comes a lot of those. Here are the words we will be using to play Bingo at our event at <a href="https://machalliance.org/machevents/mach-haus-las-vegas" target="_blank">Shoptalk</a> Vegas(26-28 March).Play Buzzword Bingo with us at our event or online. Find below the words and what they mean.Sign up to our <a href="https://machalliance.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=bb4d796bf959f0310f8409954&id=8c58bd50ec" target="_blank">MACH Alliance newsletter</a> to learn more!<h3></h3><table style="text-align: left;"><colgroup data-width='500'><col style="width:40.6%"/><col style="width:59.4%"/></colgroup><tbody style="text-align: left;font-size: 150%;"><tr style="text-align: left;"><td style="text-align: left;">"We are not a platform"</td><td>"We are not a platform": A statement indicating that a company or product is not intended to be used as a platform for building other applications or services.</td></tr><tr><td>"We don't do that"</td><td>"We don't do that": A statement often used in the MACH world where products are 'Micro services'.</td></tr><tr><td>Adaptability</td><td>Adaptability: One of the key reasons to go MACH; referring to the desired ability of businesses to let their software systems quickly respond to (sudden) changing customer needs and trends.</td></tr><tr><td>Ambassador</td><td>Ambassador: is an advanced MACH expert who happily shares insights to his or her MACH journey for others to learn from. </td></tr><tr><td>API first</td><td>API first: the A in MACH and a software build default all MACH vendor apply. The API is prioritized in the build, ensuring that all of its functionality is API connectable and the API's are considered the primary interface for a software system. </td></tr><tr><td>APIs</td><td>APIs: Stands for Application Programming Interface and it is a set of protocols, routines, and tools for building software applications, allowing different systems to communicate with each other. The A in MACH is for API-first. </td></tr><tr><td>Architecture</td><td>Architecture: refers to the overall design and structure of a system or application, including its components, interfaces, and interactions. When the MACH community talks architecture, they mean to talk about how the system is put together. </td></tr><tr><td>Best of Breed</td><td>Best of Breed: refers selecting and integrating the best possible components or solutions from different vendors or sources to create a superior overall system or solution. To not get stuck with middle-of the road solutions is why companies and smart leaders go composable or MACH.</td></tr><tr><td>ChatGPT</td><td>ChatGPT: Refers to the large language model created by OpenAI, capable of generating natural language responses to a wide range of questions and prompts.</td></tr><tr><td>Cloud-native SaaS</td><td>Cloud-native SaaS: This is the C in MACH. It stands for Software as a Service that is designed and built for the cloud environment and takes advantage of cloud services such as containerization, micro services, and auto-scaling.</td></tr><tr><td>Commodity</td><td>Commodity: Refers to something that is widely available and has a low cost, such as hardware or software components that can be used to build larger systems.</td></tr><tr><td>Community</td><td>Community: MACH is a global community of passionate people who share the common interest of being adaptable, who share best practises on how to do that and like to explain to everyone else why and how to leave legacy tech setups. </td></tr><tr><td>Composable</td><td>Composable: A software design approach where components of an application can be assembled and reused in different ways to create new applications and digital experiences. MACH is composable by default. </td></tr><tr><td>Decoupled front-end</td><td>Decoupled front-end: refers to the separated the front-end presentation layer from the back-end application logic, in MACH. This allows for greater flexibility and scalability in web development.</td></tr><tr><td>Digital experience</td><td>Digital experience: The key driver for companies to go best-of-breed, and MACH; the aim is to optimize the experience of a user interacting with their digital product or service. </td></tr><tr><td>DXC</td><td>DXC: Stands for Digital Experience Composition, a software platform that enables businesses to create and manage digital experiences across multiple channels and touchpoints.</td></tr><tr><td>Eventing</td><td>Eventing: A programming paradigm where events trigger actions or processes in a system, often used in event-driven architectures.</td></tr><tr><td>FEaaS</td><td>FEaaS: Stands for Front-End as a Service, a cloud-based service that provides developers with pre-built front-end components and infrastructure to quickly build and deploy digital experiences.</td></tr><tr><td>Functions</td><td>Functions: Small units of code that can be executed independently, often used in serverless architectures.</td></tr><tr><td>Future-proof</td><td>Future-proof: A default charecteristic of MACH infrastructures - it refers to the ability of a software system to remain relevant and adaptable. Micro services are likely to maintain front-runners plus they are swappable. </td></tr><tr><td>GraphQL</td><td>GraphQL: A query language and runtime for APIs that allows clients to specify the data they need, reducing over-fetching and enabling more efficient API usage.</td></tr><tr><td>Head-agnostic</td><td>Head-agnostic: A nicer term for headless. It refers to a software design that is not tied to any particular front-end or user interface, enabling greater flexibility in delivering digital experiences.</td></tr><tr><td>Headless</td><td>Headless: The H in MACH. An architecture where the front-end of a website or application is decoupled from the back-end, giving developers more flexibility in designing and delivering digital experiences.</td></tr><tr><td>JAMstack</td><td>JAMstack: A web development architecture that uses client-side JavaScript, APIs, and prebuilt Markup to deliver fast, secure, and scalable web applications.</td></tr><tr><td>Legacy</td><td>Legacy: Refers to older (non-MACH, non-future-proof) software that is still in use but may be outdated and difficult to maintain and update.</td></tr><tr><td>MACH</td><td>MACH: Stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless. It is an architectural approach to building digital experiences that are flexible, scalable, and future-proof.</td></tr><tr><td>MACH Blueprint</td><td>MACH Blueprint: refers to a set of principles and best practices for designing and building modern, agile, composable, and headless software architectures. MACH stands for Micro services, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless.</td></tr><tr><td>MACH-washing</td><td>MACH-washing: Legacy trying to look good by using MACH and related terms to look flexible and modern while in reality they are slow, unchangeable and clunky.</td></tr><tr><td>Micro services</td><td>Micro services: The M in MACH. The software development technique that structures an application as a collection of small, independent services that can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently. This makes them swappable. </td></tr><tr><td>Modular</td><td>Modular: MACH is Modular - it refers to a design or architecture that is composed of separate components or modules that can be easily added, removed, or replaced without affecting the entire system.</td></tr><tr><td>Monolith</td><td>Monolith: The opposite of modular, composable and MACH. It refers to a software architecture where an entire application is built as a single, tightly-coupled system.</td></tr><tr><td>Multi-tenant</td><td>Multi-tenant: Refers to a software architecture where a single instance of the software runs on a server and serves multiple customers (or tenants) securely and separately.</td></tr><tr><td>Omnichannel</td><td>Omnichannel: refers to a multi-channel approach to customer engagement and communication that aims to provide a seamless and consistent experience across all channels (e.g. website, social media, mobile apps, in-store).</td></tr><tr><td>Opinionated</td><td>Opinionated: Refers to software that enforces a particular way of doing things, often with built-in best practices and conventions that developers must follow. In the MACH world, API's should not be opinionated- they should just connect. </td></tr><tr><td>Orchestration</td><td>Orchestration: refers to the automated coordination and management of multiple systems or services, typically in a distributed computing environment.</td></tr><tr><td>PBCs</td><td>PBCs: Stands for Page Building Components, visual drag-and-drop tools for building web pages without requiring extensive coding knowledge.</td></tr><tr><td>Platform</td><td>Platform: Refers to a software system or infrastructure that provides a foundation for building and deploying other software applications or services.</td></tr><tr><td>Portfolio</td><td>Portfolio: Refers to a collection of software products or services offered by a company or organization.</td></tr><tr><td>Proof of Concept</td><td>Proof of Concept: refers to a small-scale demonstration or prototype of a new product or idea to test its feasibility and potential value, something that MACH companies can get to rather quickly.</td></tr><tr><td>Scalability </td><td>Scalability: a basic charecteristic of MACH setups; it is the ability of a system to handle increased workload without compromising its performance or quality.</td></tr><tr><td>Strangler pattern</td><td>Strangler pattern: An approach to modernizing legacy applications by gradually replacing parts of the system with new, modern components and services.</td></tr><tr><td>Suite</td><td>Suite: Refers to a collection of software applications that are designed to work together as a unified solution, often with a common user interface and shared data.</td></tr><tr><td>Swappability</td><td>Swappability: A key charactaristic of MACH components. Refers to the ability to easily replace or substitute one component or service with another, without affecting the overall functionality of a software system.</td></tr><tr><td>Time to market</td><td>Time to market: Refers to the amount of time it takes for a product or service to be developed, tested, and released to the market. It is a key metric for businesses that want to stay competitive and responsive to market demands. With composable set ups, TtM for small yet crucial changes is FAST. </td></tr><tr><td>Unopinionated</td><td>Unopinionated: Refers to software or API's that does not enforce a particular way of doing things, allowing developers to make their own choices about how to use it.</td></tr><tr><td>User Experience</td><td>User Experience: Refers to the overall experience and satisfaction that users have when interacting with a digital product or service, including aspects such as ease of use, accessibility, and aesthetics.</td></tr><tr><td>Web3</td><td>Web3: refers to the third generation of the World Wide Web, which is focused on decentralized, peer-to-peer networks and blockchain technology.</td></tr></tbody></table>

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Shoptalk Vegas: Buzzword bingo

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Shoptalk Vegas: Buzzword Bingo

Hundreds of people joined us for our Premiere webinar and we were so glad to have gotten so many and so many very&nbsp;engaged questions from the audience. Watch the full session below - underneath&nbsp;some quotes by the panelists.&nbsp;

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Dirk Hoerig, CEO with commercetools 
'We have created and help build the MACH&nbsp;market since 2013. Now the market is mature enough and we want to help companies navigate the entire landscape.’

Elaina Shekhter, CMO with EPAM Systems
‘It is much more complex now to navigate the tech landscape. We want together help building the next generation experiences. As advisors we get questions like: what does the next bank look like!’

Neha Sampat, CEO with Contentstack
'Joining in the&nbsp;MACH Alliance is really about attracting talent. Us working together will help us attract the people who want to change the status quo.’

Sonja Kotrotsos, GTM lead for Europe with Contenstack and VP of the MACH&nbsp;Alliance
'We are an open platform and invite companies to join the movement. The requirements for becoming a member are on the website.'&nbsp;

Kelly Goetsch, CPO with commercetools and President of the MACH Alliance
Q:&nbsp;What type of standards is the MACH Alliance looking to set?&nbsp;
A:&nbsp;MACH ís the standard we are setting!&nbsp;

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Why is the MACH Alliance here according to it's founders?

Recording of the MACH Alliance Premier webinar of 7 July

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Spotlight on Enablers: How MongoDB Delivers the Foundation for MACH Adoption

MACH Annual Research

Shoptalk Vegas: Buzzword bingo

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