The argument is over. Pandemics will come to an end but the landscape has changed forever. It’s no longer a question of whether your business needs a digital presence, it's how you can create a digital experience that gives you an advantage over competitors.
The key (as it has always been) is getting right content for the right person at the right time on the right device. That’s why, at Kin + Carta, we are strong advocates of what is commonly known as a MACH (Microservices, API first, Cloud native and Headless) solution.
Why MACH is the future of your digital estate
The need for a new solution
- According to Gartner, by 2025 80% of interactions between suppliers and buyers in B2B sales will occur in digital channels.
- Our research shows that 75% of people believe an out of date app, store or website reflects poorly on a brand.
- 78% of people will head off to a rival if you keep them waiting or make the purchasing experience too difficult.
MACH means more
As people demand more than ever from their digital experiences, traditional platforms are showing their age. They don't have the flex, ability to evolve or horsepower to cope. MACH builds on the Headless technology approach to give you so much more flexibility, speed to market and the ability to experiment at a low cost.
You can spin up new channels when required, swap in new tech at any time and optimise without ripping up the entire system. It allows for microservices that can be mixed and matched to customer needs. API first means everything is designed around the experience, not the back end requirements. You get freedom of innovation that opens up endless possibilities for new services and products to delight customers.
Cloud Native removes the need for a room full of servers (which saves office space and is more environmentally friendly) and gives you the ability to flex up and down to meet demand. Short term and total costs are inherently lower than the old way of having to start again with a new platform every few years, or purchase the latest version
MACH vs Traditional platforms
| Traditional Services | MACH-type solution |
|---|---|
| Tied down to certain applications | Ability to choose any application |
| Slow content updates | Fast, simple content updates |
| Large rooms full of servers | Everything in the cloud |
| Difficult to optimise | Easy to optimise |
| Periodic, expensive re-platforming | Lower costs through constant updates |
| Hard to cope with peak periods | Service can be flexed to meet peak periods |
| Time-consuming for staff | Frees up staff to do their jobs |
| Focused on backend requirements | Focused on the experience |
Removing the complexity
One opinion that has put businesses off using a Headless approach, is that it seems more complex to set up. Isn’t it easier just to pull a platform off the shelf and have everything ready to go without the need for decisions about which applications to use or how to implement the cloud?
Yes, it probably could be simpler. But simpler in this case means unsuitable for the modern requirements of your users, the needs of your marketing teams and the health of your business, plus the initial costs are higher.
The fact is, implementing MACH has become much less complex over the past few years. And by working alongside a team such as ours, you can very quickly be reaping the benefits of a MACH-style solution rather than watching your existing platform slide into obsolescence.
At Kin + Carta, we have a mix of expertise that's perfect for MACH including leaders in the Headless approach and serious experience in Cloud infrastructure services and implementation. Every day we work closely with major players such as Contentful, Contentstack, Microsoft and Google and for clients such as The Co-operative, Unilever and Nutricia Danone.
Together we can help you choose the right technology, reap the benefits of cloud infrastructure and create a digital experience that can really make a difference. One that can be optimised every day so you stay ahead of the game.
Put simply, MACH is the future of your digital estate. To find out more about what it is, what it can do and how it can work for your business talk to us to make the changes necessary to meet the demands of a digital world.