Microservices boost composable DXP efficiency & agility

Highlights

You’ll learn:

How enhancing composable DXPs with microservices architecture leads to:

• Modular development: Microservices break the DXP into small, manageable, independent modules, speeding up deployment and boosting scalability
• Seamless integration: You can integrate with diverse tools and technologies for better performance
• Customization & personalization: You can tailor digital content to users' needs, boosting engagement and satisfaction
• Cost efficiency: You only assign resources to services that need them rather than deploying the entire system, leading to better cost efficiency

Microservices take your composable DXP to another level. It saves you time and money and offers you true agility. Request a free demo today to see it in action.

Keep reading to learn more!

An IBM market insights report states that businesses that adopted microservices improved data security by 29%, customer retention by 30%, the ability to scale up or down by 27%, and performance by 28%.

Microservices boost composable DXPs in many ways. It makes them more flexible, agile and scalable and transforms them into a fast, reliable, and resilient system.

Composable DXPs and microservices

Composable DXPs are the future. They rely on microservices to split applications into smaller services, making them efficient and agile. By design, they are modular, flexible, and scalable.

They also enable various tools and services to integrate. That way, you can design their digital ecosystem to meet the needs of your customers and to adapt quickly to change and new trends.

The role of microservices in enhancing composable DXPs

Microservices decentralize functions and spread the workload across the services, which improves fault tolerance and makes the DXP scalable. They transform the DXP into an innovative and agile system that can respond to tech and market shifts. Microservices also future-proof composable digital experience platforms.

Importance of agility and scalability in DXPs

The dynamic nature of the digital space is such that businesses that can pivot and scale quickly can move ahead of their peers. Agile and scalable DXPs deliver tailored omnichannel content on demand. In short, an agile DXP is a recipe for growth and success.

Understanding composable DXPs

A composable DXP is a digital experience platform that uses a modular approach and enables businesses to integrate and select various best-of-breed solutions. These solutions work with APIs and microservices using a headless approach.

They are flexible and enable you to adapt to the customer journey based on current data.

Typically, they consist of some core units like headless CMS, front-end hosting, CRM, API-driven development frameworks, and a suite of tools for analytics, automation, and tailored omnichannel content delivery.

The role of API-driven development and headless CMS in DXPs

Microservices and API-driven development work in tandem to improve DXP performance. With APIs and headless CMS, you can integrate services, tools, and content delivery across multiple channels.

A DXP uses APIs to interact with third-party services and core sections of the digital experience platform, while it relies on a headless CMS to manage and deliver content. 

A headless CMS separates content management from its presentation, giving you more control of the backend and enabling you to publish to multiple digital devices.

They provide content as a service via APIs. So, you can integrate many front-end devices, be it mobile apps, AR/VR, or IoT devices. It delivers rapid content updates and improves the agility of the DXP.

Composable DXPs vs. monolithic architectures

You could argue that they are worlds apart. For instance, a monolithic system is built as a single integrated unit, while composable DXPs are modular and loosely coupled.

Composable DXPs enable you to integrate multiple tools and tailor digital solutions to address specific needs. As monoliths are tightly coupled, it makes them hard to customize or update.

Yet, they may offer initial simplicity and stability, while composable DXPs offer agility, allowing you to respond to market changes and user demands.

How microservices enhance DXP performance

Microservices split an application into several small services that run on individual processes and interact via HTTP-based API. Each service focuses on a specific business function and can be deployed on its own, enabling continuous delivery and deployment. 

They are also built for failure. So, if one service fails, it does not affect other services or the whole system.

Also, when you push updates, you only update and deploy the units requiring it, not the entire system. That saves resources and time and improves the system’s resilience.

Benefits of Integrating microservices with composable DXPs

Faster time to market: With teams working on different units in parallel, it speeds up the work and enables you to roll out new features, updates and fixes without waiting to deploy the whole system.

Better resilience: Since the services are isolated, it reduces the risk of system-wide failures. If one service goes down, others continue running, and you can identify and fix that one. 

Greater scalability: As you can scale each service on its own, you can expand or reduce resources based on demand. That helps the system manage varying loads, and you save resources as you do not have to deploy the whole system. 

More agility: Agile means faster iterations and the ability to adapt and respond to change. It leads to faster updates and the release of new features, ensuring you remain competitive.

Implementing microservices in a composable DXP

It all starts with understanding why you need to integrate. So, to make it successful, you must plan and consider several factors, such as API gateways, customer data platforms, and the tech stack. 

An optimum strategy aligns microservices with your business goals and improves your DXP, making it resilient, scalable, and reliable.

There are some factors to note when setting up and boosting DXP performance with microservices, such as API gateways, customer data platforms, and the tech stack.

A step-by-step guide to enhancing DXP performance with microservices

Assess business needs: First, get a good view of your business and then clarify your needs and goals. That will enable you to tailor your microservices strategy to address them.

Define microservices: Identify the core services of your DXP and assign a business function to each one. Use suitable design patterns and ensure services are autonomous but cohesive and can interact via APIs.

Implement API gateway: Set up an API gateway to manage client interactions and backend services. API gateways provide a lone interface to manage API calls and route requests to the right services. As a single entry point, they authenticate and authorize users and offer rate limits to prevent system overuse.

Establish a customer data platform: Set up and consolidate customer data. Data platforms are a central repository of customer data from multiple sources that you can use to create personalized digital solutions across multiple channels.

Continuous testing and deployment: Finally, use the CI/CD pipeline to test and deploy. That will ensure you can keep up with code changes and how they affect the business, and you also automate code change deployment, ensuring you can release new features and fixes at pace.

Optimizing customer experience with composable DXP and microservices

Integrating both systems offers you a strategic edge in delivering digital solutions and unleashing customer experience potential with composable DXPs.

• Tailor the customer experience: By combining various data sources, platforms and analytics, you can create content that aligns with the needs of each user.
• Omnichannel content delivery: Boost user experience by delivering content across multiple digital channels, ensuring brand consistency and messages tailored to the needs of customers.
• Customer journey mapping: You can integrate various tools and data sources and, with that, create an engaging customer journey.
• Better innovation: You can also optimize customer experience by releasing fixes, updates and new features that address their pain points.

Overcoming challenges in microservices and composable DXPs

Like with most systems, there are certain challenges that you can expect when integrating microservices in composable DXPs. One is that having many small services can make things complex, as you must figure out how to manage them all.

You may also run into some issues with system integration, especially how to use and secure APIs that facilitate it. Having many services also means there are more surfaces for potential attacks.

So, you may struggle with securing the system and meeting industry compliance. Yet, there are clear ways to manage these issues, as follows:

• Adopt a robust governance model: The model is a guide that outlines your policies and strategies to manage data, security, and development. It also aligns your team with the business goal.
• Ensure seamless integration: Set up API gateways and employ standard protocols like message broker and design patterns that enable services to interact and share data.
• Manage the complexity of multiple channels: Adopt a unified approach to manage and deliver content. This is where a headless CMS and an API-first approach come into play. A headless CMS simplifies content delivery, while APIs connect tools, services and the front and backend of the headless CMS.
• Security and compliance: When working with a distributed system such as this, it is essential to use a layered approach. Incorporate several security tools such as access control and data encryption. Also, assess the system on a regular basis to guard against threats. 

MACH architecture: The backbone of modern DXPs

MACH embodies the tenets of microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless technologies. It enables digital experience platforms to be resilient, flexible and scalable. These qualities enable them to respond and adapt quickly to change.

How MACH supports agility and innovation in DXPs

A 2023 MACH alliance report states that 87% of businesses that increased MACH were more responsive to change and moved ahead of their rivals. 

So, how does MACH support DXP agility? Here is an example. An e-commerce business can use microservices to split its platform into order processing, CRM, shopping cart, and payment gateway. With that, they can update one part of the system as demand requires. 

They then use APIs to connect services with other frontend tools, for instance, a new global payment provider. Cloud-native systems enable them to scale on demand and also ensure the platform is always online, even during peak periods.

A headless CMS then enables them to manage and deliver tailored content via APIs across all channels, such as mobile apps, websites, and digital in-store displays. 

Case studies

Burberry

The luxury fashion industry is fast-paced and requires fast updates, new releases, and innovation. Burberry’s monolithic system struggled with all of that. In response, they chose MACH to guide their e-commerce strategy.

Paired with Contentstack’s composable DXP, headless CMS and apps and integrations, they improved translation and boosted publishing speed by 80%. They also became faster and more agile, reducing tickets from 40 users per week to less than one.

Hear from Sonia Latoracca, the digital commerce content manager. “Contentstack helps our engineers to move fast and concentrate on business requirements by reducing proprietary platform inconveniences. Adding new consumers has never been such an easy and pleasant journey for everyone.”

Read more about how Burberry added speed and agility via a MACH and composable DXP.

Emma

Nothing prepared Emma for the kind of hypergrowth that came their way, rendering their legacy systems redundant. To correct that, they switched to a MACH strategy.

Combined with Contentstack’s composable DXP and headless CMS, their omnichannel campaigns became eight times faster, and they were able to scale and reach more customers. 

Listen to what Andreas Westendörpf, Chief Technology Officer, has to say about the new strategy. "The Contentstack user interface has really improved the developer work environment, and we are beginning to see the creative teams develop wider experiences that should increase conversion."

Read more about how Emma’s success story with an efficient DXP.

FAQ section

What is a composable DXP?

A Composable DXP is a modular and flexible digital experience platform that enables you to deliver tailored digital solutions by integrating various “best-of-breed” modules that work together via APIs with a headless approach.

How does microservices architecture benefit composable DXPs?

They make them more agile, scalable, and efficient by breaking down the DXP into small services that you can manage and deploy faster, thereby boosting speed and creating a resilient system. 

How does microservices improve DXP scalability and flexibility?

They allow each unit of a DXP to be scaled based on demand. Hence, you only assign resources to that unit rather than the whole system. That saves resources and makes it easy to scale each service if or when required.

Can microservices and composable DXPs support omnichannel delivery?

Yes. A composable DXP can leverage APIs to integrate with other systems and tools and access more granular customer data, enabling it to deliver tailored content across multiple channels. 

What challenges might arise when integrating microservices in DXPs?

Managing a distributed system can be quite hard in terms of the tech shift and getting your team to adjust to the new system. There could also be other issues, such as data consistency, securing the system and managing integration between many services.

What are the differences between composable and monolithic DXPs?

Composable DXPs are modular, flexible and loosely coupled–you can deploy and scale each unit on its own. In contrast, monolithic DXPs are tightly coupled and integrated as one unit, making them slower and difficult to scale.

Learn more

Many businesses are Enhancing composable DXP performance with microservices. With the rapid changes in technology and customer demands, staying agile and adaptable should be a priority.

By combining both technologies, you can become more agile, scalable and resilient, enabling you to stay ahead of your rivals. Take the first step to understand how a MACH-compliant DXP works. Request a free demo today.