The MACH Alliance is a non-profit entity that advocates for open and high-quality business technological ecosystems. It presents and advocates for future-ready enterprise technology that is composable, open, and of high quality.
It exists to protect the fundamental principles of MACH, acting as a guardian to ensure they are understood and that companies selling MACH solutions and services adhere to these principles.
Its goal is to foster innovation, agility, and adaptability in the business environment through the adoption of MACH technologies. The alliance provides resources, education, and guidance for companies looking to implement solutions based on these design principles.
MACH Alliance ensures it is the best and highest quality alternative by being clear, visible, and omnipresent through:
Sharing technical knowledge about the benefits of a MACH approach.
Creating and sharing best practices that show organizations how to transition to a MACH architecture.
Advising companies on selection criteria, such as what to ask providers and the fundamental principles of what is and is not MACH.
Publishing technical documentation, such as architectural blueprints, that demonstrate how to integrate MACH technologies.
Organizing events to facilitate peer networking and educate the industry about the benefits of adopting MACH through case studies and expert experiences.
What does MACH mean?
MACH stands for Microservices, API, Cloud Native SaaS, and Headless. This software architecture proposes the integration of the best-of-breed technologies into a single custom application.
MACH refers to an environment or architecture in relation to information technology, where solutions and services are developed based on a philosophy and the principal components of:
M - Microservices: This means that applications are divided into smaller, autonomous components (microservices) that can be developed and deployed independently. This allows for greater flexibility and agility in software development and maintenance.
A - API: Focuses on the importance of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) as the primary method of communication between systems and services. This facilitates integration and operability between different applications and services.
C - Cloud Native SaaS: Implies the adoption of applications and services designed from the ground up to operate in cloud environments. This leverages the advantages of scalability and availability offered by cloud infrastructure.
H - Headless: Means that applications are not tied to a specific user interface, allowing for the separation of business logic from presentation. This is especially useful in contexts where content needs to be delivered across multiple channels and devices.
The MACH Alliance was formed to promote these design characteristics in enterprise technology architecture and help organizations adopt more flexible and agile technological solutions.
When was it created?
MACH Alliance was created in June 2020 and was named "The Coolest Technology in Town Club" by Forrester. A year later, it changed its name to MACH Alliance.
It was founded by four companies: Contentstack, commercetools, EPAM Systems, and Valtech. Among its initial members are Contentful, Algolia, Amplience, Cloudinary, Constructor.io, E2X, Fluent Commerce, Frontastic, Mobify, and Vue Storefront.
The MACH Alliance offers its members access to resources, education, and networking opportunities. It has more than 70 corporate members from the Information Technology sector, including the top developers, providers, system integrators, and enablers.
Benefits of Adopting a MACH Architecture
The MACH architecture offers several significant benefits for businesses that adopt it:
This architecture creates a framework of future flexibility that allows businesses to evolve at their own pace.
Designed for easy integration, MACH tools are easy to add and remove from the project, allowing for the selection of the most suitable solutions for each domain, rather than one large platform that works "well" for several domains.
MACH solutions are highly flexible and adaptable to unique needs.
Being built natively with modern development tools and frameworks, it allows you to design unique experiences for your customers. By leveraging the latest advancements in cloud and API design, you can create highly efficient, fast experiences available on a large scale.
It enables businesses to respond quickly to changing customer needs and market conditions.
Innovation can be more easily achieved at a lower operational cost. Adopting this approach can help businesses increase revenue by improving time to market, customer experience, scalability and flexibility, and analytics and insights.
Ensures that your company stays at the forefront of digital experience.
Given the speed, scale, and performance offered by MACH technologies, along with the ubiquity of cloud and APIs, lean towards a future in which this type of design becomes one of the most common patterns in enterprise architectures.
What it offers to its members
The MACH Alliance offers its members a wide variety of resources that are useful for business development. These resources include:
An eCommerce expert database: Provides collective knowledge and MACH Alliance experience, where members can find answers and advice regarding the challenges that eCommerce may face.
An eCommerce resource library: A collection of articles, white papers, and other materials that members can use to stay informed about the industry.
An eCommerce service provider directory: This gives members access to a network of professionals who can also provide business-related assistance.
For education and networking, the MACH Alliance offers various opportunities for its members, including conferences, workshops, and seminars.
At conferences, members have the opportunity to learn from and network with e-commerce experts, while workshops and seminars provide the opportunity to learn about specific aspects of eCommerce. Thanks to these events, members acquire knowledge and skills to grow their businesses.
Being a part of it is a good way to connect with other eCommerce companies and learn from their experiences."
Who are its members
MACH Alliance actively seeks like-minded companies and individuals who share its vision and join the cause. The Alliance has established certification standards to identify providers and integrators that embrace MACH philosophies and offer certified services for MACH
The MACH community is made up of people looking for better commerce systems instead of obsolete systems, as these cannot keep up with the current business pace.
MACH Alliance is composed of:
Ambassadors: A group of individuals, leaders, and business, digital, and technological professionals who have earned leadership positions in various organizations. They actively contribute to promoting MACH ideology, speak and attend global events where they share their experiences and provide equitable guidance to new members.
Supporting Membership: Comprises companies that want to join and participate actively, providing contributions and opinions to the MACH community but do not meet the requirements for MACH certification. These members cannot be providers.
Certified Members: Work as a global collective, carrying a seal of approval that buyers require to support them in their transition.
Types of members:
ISVs (Independent Software Vendors): Represent the new and best technology platforms, work with other providers within MACH, with international business owners as their clients.
Startup ISVs: Young companies focused on creating innovative technological solutions, such as applications, platforms, or specialized software.
SIs (System Integrators): Possess the experience and knowledge to consult, design, implement, integrate, and manage a current and compatible technological environment. They focus on consulting and implementing cutting-edge technologies.
Enablers: Enable a company to achieve its goals more effectively.
Supporters: Are individuals or groups that provide support, backing, or sympathy for the cause.
Adopting MACH architecture doesn’t mean that a company has to completely reconfigure its architecture all at once. For many companies, starting with a single platform is all that is needed.
