MACH for Modern Retail: Getting Ahead with Cloud Technology
Posted by Amanda McLaughlin on Oct 18, 2021
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This is part 3 of our MACH series where we focus on cloud technology and the freedom of customization it gives you. Check out the other articles on microservices, APIs, and headless commerce.
Retailers know new functionality is integral to staying competitive. Even so, quickly switching on new functions on monolithic platforms comes with a whole host of problems. You have to weigh the risk vs. reward.
Legacy systems aren’t up to snuff, so retailers are pelting towards MACH-certified solutions. Why? Because they come with a promise: best-in-class vendors that deliver future-proof technology. Less risk, more reward.
MACH certification guarantees software vendors have the MACH Alliance mission interwoven into the fabric of their DNA—offering Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless services.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with monoliths—they’re simple and safe. If you experience no issues using one, why bother changing?
Monoliths put on weight fast. They grow multiple apps within themselves and meet large volumes of data and high traffic. However, those overweight systems start to wobble about, throwing up problems in performance, stability, and slow development cycles.
They’re a single point of failure and have several bottlenecks when pressured. This leaves you vulnerable to being outplayed by your competition.
Solving big problems is easier when you break them up into smaller ones. This simple idea is shaping a lot of transformation in retail right now. It’s why omnichannel SaaS is becoming the preferred option for retailers—Gartner predicts a 23.1% growth in end-user spending on cloud services (totaling $332.3 billion worldwide) for 2021.
The thirst for a better customer experience is a primary driver of this business change. It’s steering many retailers’ pursuit for a cloud-based foundation. Cloud-native SaaS systems are a cost-effective way to gain real-time connectivity across your organization. They’re always up-to-date, scalable and secure, and let you continuously innovate.
Cloud-based models with microservices on an API-first architecture offer retailers extreme flexibility and freedom to stop worrying about development and maintenance.
Applications can be deployed on different servers independent of each other, becoming “loosely coupled,” Your development teams even have the freedom to build them using technology they’re experts in.
Not only does this let you plan for high availability much easier, but the failure of a single service is less likely to bring the entire application down.
Retailers using cloud-based models can also increase or decrease their computing usage. That means whatever promotion you’re running, whatever time of year it is, you’ll be able to handle it cost-effectively. And as a nice little bonus, failure recovery, fault tolerance, and retry on fail are more automated and efficient.
Monolithic architecture designed well will probably be fine for a long time. But little issues add up quickly. Your teams will gradually spend more time fixing issues than building all the cool and helpful stuff your users want.
Ultimately, your goal is to keep being creative by giving your teams the freedom and means to develop fast. That’s what MACH architecture stands for. The MACH seal is your assurance of flexibility, adaptability, and freedom in your cloud-based solution.
The NewStore Omnichannel Platform has been vetted and confirmed to offer innovative solutions to support and immediately impact your digital journey.
Cloud-first means value-first. Don’t just take our word for it. Click the link below for a demo, and we’ll run through how we can help you save on costs, go live faster, and achieve quicker ROI.
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