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Composable Architecture

Discover a new approach to digital commerce solutions that promises better flexibility, speed-to market, scalability, and customer experiences that will leave shoppers wanting more. Future-proof your business and drive sales with a new kind of ecommerce architecture.

Composable architecture helps meet changing needs

Modern customers expect to interact with digital businesses through various channels, whether a physical store, a kiosk, or an app, social media, online customer support, loyalty solutions, and more. These customer touchpoints are constantly changing and evolving.

Customers anticipate a consistent experience personalized to their needs across all channels. This requires a deep understanding of the customer and foresight.

As architecture grows more complex by the day, it’s a great time to consider composable architecture.

WHAT IS COMPOSABLE ARCHITECTURE?

Based on a microservices concept, composable architecture refers to loosely coupled services, applications, and features that act as independent building blocks and communicate via APIs. This approach provides the chance to handpick the best-of-breed technologies to create a flexible ecommerce stack and replace components without impacting other parts of the system.

Composable Architecture in 3 Minutes

What does composable architecture do?

Composable architecture aims to assemble a set of best-of-breed technologies for your business. The technologies and operating methods used are based on the needs and goals of your business. The modular approach is the opposite of the traditional platform-based approach that boasts out-of-the-box features and functionality.

The customer experience is at the center of composable architecture, as every component can easily be replaced as new needs or technologies arise. Composable architecture is perfect for companies that want to create cutting edge digital customer experiences and consistently keep up with digital trends.

Related Reading: Microservices vs APIs: What’s the Difference?

The Benefits of Composable Architecture

+ Flexibility

Enjoy the freedom to choose the elements you need without building your solution from scratch or (gasp) re-platforming. A flexible, light-weight architecture lets you pivot to quickly stay ahead of trends and competitors.

+ Sales

What happens when you keep customers happy and coming back? More sales, of course! A flexible working environment lets teams work together quickly to constantly improve your customer experiences.

+ Affordable

Save money on resources, from hosting and product licenses, to site maintenance. Pay for only the microservices you need–nothing else.

+ Future-Proof

Plan for growth and scalability with the freedom to choose, integrate, and swap out components. Don’t limit yourself when it comes to expanding to new markets or trying the newest trends.

+ CX

Customer Experience (CX) is at the heart of…everything. It’s not a one-and-done kind of thing nowadays; it’s a constant work in progress to keep customers happy. Make it simple to update, adapt, and tweak your CX.

+ Integrations

Unleash your developers to build integrations, create multiple sales channels, integrate third-party services, swap data between applications, and more. Ensure every microservice meets a specific business need.

Composable Architecture and MACH

Composable architecture is based on the MACH Principles, a concept centered on a modular ecosystem containing loosely coupled microservices.

The MACH acronym consists of the words: Microservices, API-First, Cloud-native, and Headless

  • Microservices: Independently functioning services or systems that are each responsible for a certain function
  • API-First: Microservices use Application Programming Interfaces, or API’s, to communicate with each other
  • Cloud-native: Cloud-native applications provide better scalability, faster development, and better flexibility without the burden of maintaining persona servers
  • Headless: The concept of decoupling the frontend, or user interface, from the backend

Watch our video: Headless and Composable Architecture—Technology Hype or Business Differentiator?

 

Composable vs Headless

Are composable and headless the same thing? No, but they are closely related. Headless is a part of the composable architecture concept.

A headless online store does not contain a “head” or a “presentation later” with which end users interact. Headless refers to a completely separated backend and frontend (presentation later) as opposed to a single platform as a single entity or suite. This provides the possibility to use systems from different suppliers for the backend, a CMS system, and the presentation layer visible to customers. In a headless solution, the backend and frontend systems generally communicate through APIs.

Composable architecture refers to an ecosystem that contains independent systems and components that communicate to each other with the help of APIs. Composable architecture can contain several different headless implementations. Headless architecture allows for deeper flexibility, as developers and teams can work independently to change different functions without jeopardizing one another.

Often, the introduction of headless is the first step towards a more flexible approach, such as composable architecture, where the backend is also composed of separate components, or “microservices.”

Related Reading: Headless Magento: Is It the Right Choice for You?

Watch: Headless and Composable

From a Business Perspective

When you want to offer your customers a uniquely high level of brand experience, even the most advanced ecommerce platform with a plethora of plug-and-play features may not be enough to meet all your needs. Building a sophisticated and detailed customer experience requires multiple tools and features that are tuned to peak performance in their specific area of expertise.

When a company’s ecommerce solution is composed of microservices that communicate via APIs, each separate microservice can be updated or exchanged individually. According to research by Gartner, companies that adopt a composable approach are faster than competitors when implementing new functionalities.

 

Composable Architecture Enables Business Drivers

  • A strong focus on branding
  • Increasing the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
  • Optimizing features and functions for the customer
  • Forging new sales channels
  • Faster return on investment (ROI) through increased value

 

Related Reading: How to Go Composable with Adobe Commerce

Platform-Based vs Composable Architecture

Ecommerce companies typically choose either a traditional ecommerce platform or go the composable architecture route. Neither is necessarily a better choice, but the right solution for you is based on your company’s unique needs and current technological state.

Composable architecture (also known as microservices-based architecture) is based on microservices, where the features of the online store are divided into individual components that function independently.

The Benefits of Composable Architecture:

  • Since composable architecture is built from separate microservices, it’s possible to remove, add, replace and improve the components anytime. You’re free to always choose the best-of-breed tools available on the market.
  • Composable enables the optimization of every part of your system, and as a result, your developers can work on your system at a more detailed level.
  • With composable, you avoid the need for large-scale projects, such as re-platforming, which can last several months or even years.

The Benefits of a Traditional Platform-Based Architecture:

  • Composable architecture requires a higher level of technical expertise in order to ensure the functionality and maintenance of your ecommerce solution. Using a single all-in-one platform can be simpler from a technical point of view.
  • An individual platform, or a suite, already contains a large number of well-functioning, ready-to-use functionalities out-of-the-box, which can be customized up to a certain point according to your company’s needs.
  • Platform-based architecture, or an ecommerce platform, follows the specifications made by the manufacturer. As a result, it’s usually easier to integrate add-ons and plugins that belong to the same ecosystem and use the same data models.

Read More About Composable

Platform-Based vs Composable Architecture
How-To: Microservices Migration
Increase Your Development Speed and Throughput with Microservices Architecture

TECHNICAL ORGANIZATION & DELIVERY

Full-stack-based architecture, such as the traditional ecommerce platform, generally has fewer systems to cover processes and functionality. On the other hand, composable architecture requires slightly different capabilities, and a new way of thinking when it comes to design.

Technical Vision

  • Traditional architecture doesn’t offer as much flexibility, but it provides best-of-breed solutions focused on solving business problems.
  • A headless implementation strategy ensures the frontend and backend can be updated separately.
  • Composable architecture allows developers to change or add “services” independently.

 

Technical Organization

  • Traditional architecture calls for a smaller team with 1-2 product owners or business analysts, and support from IT on architectural elements.
  • Headless architecture enables in-house or multi-partner delivery.
  • Composable requires wider technical expertise, with in-house system architects, DevOps, product owners, and business architects.

 

Partner Collaboration Model

  • Traditional architecture outsources ecommerce maintenance, agile development, and DevOps to a partner.
  • Headless allows for separate development roadmaps for the backend and frontend.
  • Composable allows a company to use in-house teams for DevOps and maintenance along with cross-organizational development teams.

Who is a Great Fit for Composable Architecture?

Composable architecture is not the only choice, nor is it the right one for every company. For a smaller company with a straight-forward business model, composing an ecommerce solution from components is a big investment that won’t pay for itself. As a general rule, the composable approach suits larger organizations with more complex business models.

Composable architecture is an excellent fit in the following scenarios:

  • A company with a marketplace operation
  • A manufacturer that produces complex equipment
  • A large, internationally operating brand
  • A company within the telecommunications, finance, or automotive industry
  • A company who is an advanced multi-channel seller
  • A company that offers IoT-based services

Composable architecture is an excellent choice for large companies that cannot allow their system architecture to slow down innovations. Composable is the perfect choice for a company with ambitious omnichannel goals and a vision of connecting all sales channels, or a company that wants to focus on creating digital services that generate added value.

Related Reading: Is Composable Architecture Right for You?

Our Partners

commercetools is the world’s leading commerce platform built on modern MACH Principles (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-Native, and Headless) and allows you to work with your commerce solution and create tailored customer experiences.

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Contentful is an API-based headless content management platform where you can create, manage, and publish content on any of your digital channels.

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Adobe Commerce is an extendable and scalable end-to-end ecommerce platform that lets you manage, personalize, and optimize the commerce experience across touchpoints and the customer journey.

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We Can Help You Achieve a Seamless Customer Experience

Make your customers fall in love with your brand through tailored customer experiences across all touchpoints. Vaimo helps you deliver powerful customer experiences that will drive sales and keep your customers coming back for more.

 

 

The field of ecommerce is constantly evolving. At Vaimo, we stay at the forefront of technical developments and continuously bring on new tools and skills as needed.

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