
While Sitecore XP Classic remains a strong choice for Digital Experience Platform implementation with its monolithic architecture, many organizations are recognizing the strategic need to transition to composable architecture. According to Gartner:
Sustaining and maximizing favorable business outcomes for the
accelerating digital industrial age requires that enterprises shift to a
business design that maximizes the potential of digital technology.
A key aspect of digital technologies that affects all areas of business
is the ability to compose and recompose various elements of
business rapidly and inexpensively. A business design that allows for
such composability is necessary to both capitalize on opportunities
and address threats from continuous disruption. This design should
work along with other societal, cultural, and economic factors that
affect the economy and business landscape
Accenture’s report, “Composing for Agility” emphasizes the value of a composable technology approach built on modular and interoperable solutions. This strategy aligns with the current reality, where companies face tighter transformation timelines while optimizing costs and staying competitive. Achieving the rapid adaptation Accenture calls “compressed transformation” is only possible by leveraging proven, best-in-class capabilities.
What Is Composable Architecture?
Composable architecture is like baking a cake. Object-Oriented Principles (OOP) are the foundational ingredients—the flour and eggs. Microservices act as the individual materials, like the batter and frosting, that combine to create the cake. Packaged Business Capabilities (PBCs) are the fully baked layers—ready-made solutions designed to address specific business needs. By mixing or swapping these components in new ways, entirely new flavors or styles of cakes can be created.
The more ‘baked layers’ that are utilized, the faster the final product is assembled. By leveraging composable solutions, development processes are streamlined, significantly reducing time to market and improving quality. This approach enables teams to focus on innovation rather than building from scratch.
Starting Small: The First Steps for Sitecore XP Users
For Sitecore XP users, a great way to begin with composable architecture is by incorporating Sitecore CDP and Personalize. Personalization is crucial for any platform, even if xConnect is currently in use, as these tools offer immediate value by enabling modern integrations and providing true omnichannel capabilities—both online and offline.
Once personalization is integrated, the architecture can be expanded with other composable-friendly tools, such as Sitecore Search or Coveo, Adobe Analytics or Domo, Content Hub, and many more, to further enhance the digital ecosystem and enabling cloud-native approach.
Aiming for a Cloud-Native Future
The long-term goal for many organizations isn’t to stick with XP or XM but to move toward a fully cloud-native future. Sitecore XM Cloud (XMC) is the endgame here, offering scalability and flexibility that’s hard to beat. But getting there isn’t just about buying the right tools- it demands a fundamental change in how teams collaborate.
Breaking Down Silos: The Cultural Shift
This move to composable architecture is a lot like the rise of DevOps a while back. It’s not just about technology or business; it’s about getting business and technology teams to work together. Breaking down silos is tough, but it’s critical. Organizations need to focus on collaboration and alignment, and that’s often the hardest part. And it’s not just cultural silos that need to be dismantled—the same applies to data silos. The more composable products are used, the more silos can emerge. To tackle this, proper data architecture must be carefully selected.
Data-First Approach
In a composable architecture, adopting a data-first approach with a framework like Data Mesh or Unified Data Model is essential for building a scalable and flexible ecosystem. The decentralized nature of composable architecture aligns perfectly with Data Mesh principles, allowing individual domain/product teams to manage and serve their own data. This approach eliminates bottlenecks caused by centralized data management and reduces siloed PBCs integrations, enabling seamless data flow, governance and scalability across the architecture.
Alternatively, a Unified Data Model (UDM) data architecture can also be effective. UDM provides a standardized structure for data, ensuring consistency and compatibility across systems while simplifying integration. By combining the flexibility of composable architecture with a unified approach to data modeling, organizations can achieve both autonomy for teams and a consistent data ecosystem that supports consistency.
The choice between Data Mesh and a Unified Data Model (UDM) depends on organizational needs. Data Mesh supports decentralized teams managing their own data independently, while UDM ensures consistency and standardization across systems.
Other Considerations
- Security, Governance and Compliance: Establish robust data privacy and security policies to meet modern regulatory requirements.
- Scalability: Design your architecture for growth, ensuring it can evolve with future needs or have capability to support swapping of tools
- Cost-Effectiveness: Balance the initial investment with long-term value, ensuring sustainable cost management.
Wrapping It Up
Composable architecture is the future of digital experience management. It offers flexibility, speed, and a foundation for future innovation. However, it’s not just about tools like Sitecore CDP, Personalize, and XM Cloud—it’s about bridging the gap between business and technology teams. By working together and focusing on shared goals, organizations can lead the way in digital transformation.
In the next article, I’ll dive deep into how to integrate Sitecore CDP/Personalize with the XP platform and how to start building new capabilities with this unified platform.
Written by Boris, proofread and formatted by ChatGPT.
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