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The flexible architectural approach for a sustainable digital future

MACH

Modular modernity and the demand for more

Users are expecting more from digital experiences and those demands are more diverse than ever. The agility to meet these needs at every touchpoint seemed like a distant dream until a revolution arrived in the form of MACH (Microservices, API first, Cloud native and Headless) architecture. MACH offers agile, flexible and reliable solutions that, at long last, put the customer first.

MACH isn’t a platform but a set of architectural principles and a modern way of thinking about how you build your brand’s digital landscape across all touchpoints.


 

The stats make the case

Why is there such a necessity for a MACH approach? Research from the Kin + Carta Change Report 2021 found that:

  • 75% of people believe an out of date app, store or website reflects poorly on a brand. 
  • 78% will look for alternative brands if a website makes them wait in a queue during peak times or fails at some point in the purchase journey.
  • 74% think that websites and apps should be accessible for people with different needs. 

There is a clear need for nimble ways to meet the demands of markets that can shapeshift from one day to the next.

 

Application leaders can not meet market needs or business objectives with monolithic digital experience platforms and must update tech stacks, decompose monoliths and deliver task-oriented capabilities.

Gartner: Adopt a Composable DXP Strategy to Future-Proof Your Tech Stack. Dec 2020.

Future proofing your business 

Those that have replaced old tech with new MACH solutions are discovering economical benefits in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO) because of their sheer flexibility. Software as a service (SaaS) providers, for instance, offer integrations that can be achieved in a few clicks. That means  large-scale, lift-and-shift replatforming jobs are becoming distant memories. By making the different elements modular, and therefore swappable, businesses can innovate fast and rapidly deploy new features


 

How can we help you adopt a MACH approach and put your customers first?

Get in touch

Microservices

The days of large, monolithic platforms, tightly coupled functionality and slow, risky deployments are receding. Instead, smaller, independent, focused microservices allow for focused contextualised development. These new services return business value quickly and can be adopted quickly across the Enterprise.

API first

MACH enables you to make a difference at the point where your users make contact with your organisation, be it a human or a machine. An API-first approach gives system designers consistency, simplicity, robustness and flexibility.

Cloud native

Building natively in the cloud removes the need for maintenance and management of onsite infrastructure, and enables you to stand on the shoulders of giants to innovate your differentiation rather than reinvent the wheel.  Deploy and scale your critical applications globally in the time it took to drive to the data centre.

Headless

Headless Commerce or CMS decouples the user experience from the backend of the platform giving your teams the flexibility and freedom to construct just the right experience for the right channel and allows your product and marketing teams to deliver quickly

How MACH helps you win

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The ability to pivot rapidly

2020 demonstrated the importance of being able to change quickly to meet demands. With MACH you don't have to plan your digital strategy in detail four years in advance. Instead, you can change and adapt as the world inevitably changes in ways we can’t foresee.

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Mitigate risk

MACH is ideal for any scaling business, with users that demand more. Maximise longer term investment by only paying for what you need, when the users need it.

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Make it better, not again

Tech and capability can be gradually integrated into the stack and replaced when no longer fit for purpose. Large-scale, lift-and-shift replatforming jobs become distant memories.

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Deliver first class omnichannel experiences

The ability to innovate driven by the power of APIs means endless possibilities for creating new digital experiences that delight customers. MACH allows you to think about the future in terms of serving content across Mobile Apps, Smart devices and POS screens all managed and connected.

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Stop wasting (lots of) money

Traditional suites, running upgrade programmes to maintain ‘mainstream support’, rarely delivers any additional benefit for the huge time and money investment. A MACH approach avoids the upgrade-trap, allows you to keep a steady pace of capability innovation and smooths out the cost ‘shocks’ which makes for better long term total cost of ownership.

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The right people doing the right things

MACH is most effective with a cross-functional team. Your developers and technologists can concentrate on the bigger picture and innovative solutions, removing pre-set constraints. Marketing can control the delivery of campaigns and enjoy the ability to focus on creating more impactful experiences.

Kin + Carta can make MACH work for you

We can help you deliver agile, flexible and reliable MACH solutions that put your customers first.  Kin + Carta provides the complete end-to-end team of experts to tailor the right solution for your business. We will seamlessly integrate your microservices and APIs to take away the short term pain for long term gains. Our unique blend of skills and experience makes us the ideal partner to help you make the most of MACH.

The global partners who make it happen

Working with MACH-aligned tech partners such as Contentstack, Contentful, Google Cloud, Commercetools, Uniform and Microsoft, Kin + Carta helps you make the most of the approach and integrate it into your brand. 

 

 

Making it easy for you to go MACH 

Supporting your internal buy-in

A MACH approach needs internal buy-in from stakeholders used to operating a single pane of glass. Digital transformation is part of our DNA and we’ll help you bring these people – from the C-suite down – along on the journey.

Managing your MACH programme

It’s a tempting mistake to try and do everything at once but MACH is all about progression and transformation. You can target the areas of highest value/change and test before migrating. At Kin + Carta we work closely with our clients on programme management identifying which part of the business you should focus on first that will drive the most value.

Selecting your vendors

Whilst CMS can often be at the core of MACH, you will also need to consider additional vendors such as DAM, Commerce, Search, Personalisation, CRM and more. Our vendor selection and procurement assistance will help you make the right choices for your business.

Dealing with behind the scenes work

An inexperienced IT team can easily be overwhelmed by MACH in terms of monitoring, security and SLAs. We can help your team own all the integrations and connectivity between the platforms and ensure your people are driving change through our consulting, engineering and long term managed experience support.

Our work

We helped a major global FMCG replace a decades-old CMS with MACH style modern SaaS technology providing a full delivery platform for speed, agility and flexibility. Our team also advised on the business case as well as technical strategy. The first pilot site, rolled out across 30+ markets, will reduce the Total Cost of Ownership by millions and deliver devolved value streams operating within a central governance framework.

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Cazoo

We created an end-to-end platform for the UK's fastest growing start-up, going from an A4 piece of paper to a designed, built and operational service in 4 months.

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Co-op

As the lead digital agency for Co-operative Food, we transformed their digital experience using Contentful, with a modern content platform that inspires browsing and storytelling.

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Sail GP

In just 12 weeks, we helped launch a brand new concept bringing the thrills and spills of Formula 1 racing to the water. Advanced technology allowed fans to follow real time event data, bringing the race to life across web, app and TV.

To bring Cazoo to life we needed an end-to-end product & technology partner that would help us to achieve our ambitious timeline to launch whilst building a modern start-up at the same time. The Kin + Carta team brought the speed and capabilities we were looking for, and worked with us as true partners to make Cazoo happen.

Jonathan Howell - CTO, Cazoo

How can we help you adopt a MACH approach and put your customers first?

Get in touch