Author
Jonas De Bondt
Publishing date
Mar 21, 2023
Hasselt
Corda Campus - Corda 2Kempische Steenweg 311
3500 Hasselt
Kontich
Business Park King SquarePrins Boudewijnlaan 24E
2550 Kontich
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MACH is the future
How MACH architecture can boost your e-commerce infrastructure
What is MACH architecture, how can it boost your e-commerce infrastructure and why do you need it? It's easy to get lost in the world of MACH and be overwhelmed by an architectural principle that seems complicated at first glance. This is where supersonic steps in, to guide you into the future of IT architecture, which is actually much simpler than you might think. Jonas De Bondt, technical architect at supersonic, will use a number of analogies to explain why the transition from monolith platforms to MACH architecture is necessary for businesses, and how MACH can pave the way to a more agile and scalable e-commerce infrastructure. Buckle up and let's take a flight through the world of MACH architecture together!
MACH
What does it stand for?
Microservices
Loosely-coupled services
Microservices are a series of loosely-coupled services/applications that all serve their individual responsibility. Instead of building one large application, that includes all the features and integrations, it is broken down into a series of microservices. Each microservice covers specific functionality and can be managed separately from all other services. On version management, deployments, downtime, resource usage, …
Imagine you want to update your aircraft's in-flight entertainment screens. Unlike a monolithic architecture that would require updating the entire aircraft, MACH allows you to replace only the screens while leaving the rest of the aircraft intact and usable. Save time and money with MACH!
Built faster and easy to deploy
Microservices allow you to make changes easily and quickly. Instead of rebuilding an entire platform, lightweight microservices can be built and deployed easily. For example, when updating an email integration microservice, deployment is seamless and without downtime. Even if there's a bug, only the microservice is affected, while the rest of the architecture remains intact. In a monolithic architecture, a bug could cause the entire platform to break or go down. Opting for microservices makes for a more flexible and reliable architecture!
In a monolith setup, if one aircraft engine fails, all other engines and functionality fail, causing a crash. But with MACH, the failed engine is disconnected, while the other engines keep the aircraft in the air and all other functionality continues to work.
Choose the best tech for your use case
One of the major advantages of microservices is the flexibility in choosing the best and latest technologies for the use case, whereas monolithic architectures tend to rely on older technologies and versions. Upgrading a monolithic platform can be challenging and often results in falling behind by the time one finishes the upgrade. Microservices provide a solution to this problem by allowing each service to be upgraded and managed separately from the rest. In addition, microservices are generally more lightweight.
MACH empowers you to explore a range of aircraft screen manufacturers and select the one that best meets your requirements. In contrast, a monolithic architecture limits your choices to the screen offered by the aircraft manufacturer. By embracing MACH, you gain the freedom to customize your aircraft's in-flight entertainment screens and deliver a more personalized experience to your passengers.
Scalability
Prepare for peak loads with microservices! During events like Black Friday, particular functionalities can be overloaded. Instead of rescaling the entire platform like in a monolith setup, microservices can be easily scaled individually without downtime.
In a monolith architecture, you would have to rent an entire plane to get from one place to another. In MACH, you just buy a ticket for as many seats as you need.
API-first
Application Programming Interface
APIs have evolved from being an added layer on an existing backend to becoming the backbone of the backend. With this new setup, APIs serve as the most important component for communication between all parts of the architecture.
This results in more lightweight and faster processing of functionalities since the UI is completely decoupled from the backend. Furthermore, APIs enable universal usage and can be accessed by various systems, including the front end of a webshop, native apps, POS systems, or other external systems such as marketing platforms. Access to specific functionality can be restricted by applying scopes, depending on which application calls the API.
In aviation, the use of standardized communication protocols is crucial for ensuring safe and consistent flights from start to finish, regardless of the aircraft or pilot. Rather than designing the communication systems first and then trying to fit them into the protocols, the communication systems in an aircraft are built to comply with these protocols from the start. This approach helps to maintain the integrity of the protocols and ensures that the communication systems are usable and effective.
Cloud-native
Hosting infrastructure
Cloud providers like AWS, Google, and Azure have grown in the past decade, offering unparalleled possibilities, flexibility, and scalability for hosting infrastructure. In the MACH alliance, services, and functionality are cloud-based, allowing you to harness the full power of the cloud.
Cloud-based microservices offer hassle-free management and scalability. With cloud-native services, resources can be managed for you, and features like messaging/event systems and APIs can be used. The possibilities are endless.
Outsource airplane maintenance tasks like changing the oil or brakes to specialized companies instead of doing it yourself.
Headless
Decoupling the backend
The front-end and back-end of an e-commerce website have different sets of technologies and specific setups. So why combine the two into one code set and platform? Exactly! Decoupling the backend through a headless approach allows it to exist separately with its own versioning, deployments, and resource usage.
The front end can communicate with the backend through API calls, allowing it to run client-side and improving website performance. This also opens up a world of omnichannel possibilities through standardized communication.
A headless backend opens up a world of omnichannel possibilities. Every application can communicate with the backend using the same standardized way of communication.
The appearance of your motors, wiring, and other 'invisible' components is less important than their functionality; they simply need to work effectively.
Conclusion
Flexible, scalable and future-proof
MACH architecture is the future of IT architecture. Companies want architecture to be flexible, scalable, and future-proof. MACH offers all this and more. Whoever said that a MACH architecture is too complicated has not met the right implementation partner yet. Supersonic can guide and support you in the rapidly evolving digital commerce landscape, to help you create your state-of-the-art digital commerce platform.
Flexibility
MACH architecture is a flexible solution that allows you to easily switch out components to find the best-of-breed solutions for your needs. Unlike monolith platforms, which require you to either switch out the entire platform or add external solutions, MACH architecture lets you select the best solution for each function. This means that if you're not satisfied with your marketing capabilities, you can quickly and easily add a new marketing platform to your stack while removing the old one.
Can you imagine that if you are not happy with the seats in your airplane, you have to replace the entire plane? Or that you have to add the new seats while keeping and paying for the old ones? Sound crazy and stupid? Exactly, this is a monolith platform.
Attracting new talent
Recruiting new talent for monolith platforms can be challenging due to their reliance on outdated and complex technologies, which require significant expertise to implement. In contrast, MACH architectures offer a streamlined onboarding process for new developers by allowing the use of modern and well-documented technologies. This makes the platform more appealing to developers seeking to work with advanced web technologies. Additionally, making changes to specific aspects of the architecture, such as the email integration microservice, is much easier and quicker with MACH due to its small code base and use of widely adopted technologies.
Jack of all trades, master of none
A monolith platform can be described as a “jack of all trades, master of none”. It provides “everything” but will never be the best in any of the aspects. Choosing the best platform for the job can be done in a MACH architecture.
You don't have the same company build your entire aircraft. You don't want the company that makes your inflight entertainment to install your engines. You get an expert for different parts.
