How to get buy-in for your MACH-powered digital transformation

Adopting MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless) architecture offers tremendous benefits for companies undergoing digital transformation. The flexible, scalable approach to technology can resolve pain points around rigid legacy systems, slow feature delivery and poor developer experience. But the journey to a modern tech stack can be challenging, with many interconnected steps to navigate. That’s why preparing your business for digital transformation is critical to future-proofing your organization. 

MACH represents a shift in technology, development approach and organizational culture. Core principles like adopting agile methodologies, focusing on product-led outcomes and upskilling teams to bridge skill gaps underpin successful adoption. Old approaches – like letting your monolithic solution provider determine what will or won’t be in your stack – don’t apply anymore. To achieve your goals quickly and maximize your new composable platform, you need a new way of working. 

“Moving to a MACH architecture isn't just about implementing new technologies; it's a transformation in how your teams work,” notes Becky Parisotto, VP Retail and Commerce Platforms at Orium. “There is effort in that, but when done correctly, it will make your business more efficient, more agile, and more successful.”

Get MACH Ready, a new white paper from Orium, commercetools, Contentstack and MACH Ambassador Scott Canney, was created to help brands set the course for MACH success. It’s full of actionable strategies to help you on your way, from initial support for making the change through implementation, launch and optimization. One of the first pieces of the puzzle is getting buy-in for moving to MACH. 

Below, we’ve highlighted some of the key takeaways outlined in the report for this stage of the journey.

Tips on how to get buy-in

Transitioning to MACH requires securing buy-in across the organization. This involves clearly communicating how MACH aligns with company strategy and impacts each stakeholder group. There are a few things to consider, such as the order of buy-in (who do you talk to first to help build a base of support?) and the key talking points and benefits to emphasize for each department or team (what matters most to them?), but when done correctly you can build an extremely compelling, business-ready case for why your brand needs to adopt a MACH-based approach.

Marketing

The CMO and Marketing Leadership are crucial early allies. MACH grants end-to-end control over content, enabling tailored user experiences, data-driven marketing and streamlined content workflows. 

The marketing team’s support can be secured by highlighting these significant advantages around marketing empowerment, personalization capabilities and experimentation potential.

Sales

Next, bring the CRO and Head of Sales on board. For this audience, focus on how MACH can automate manual tasks, accelerate the sales cycle through personalization and provide comprehensive customer insights to close more deals. 

MACH also enables stitching data across channels over time to give sales teams enhanced CRM capabilities.

Digital/Product team

Equally vital is securing the CDO, CPO and Head of Product's stamp of approval. For these stakeholders, spotlight MACH’s self-service team empowerment, rapid feature delivery through modular updates and simplified architecture. 

Reduced dependencies and accelerated development cycles are particularly compelling advantages. Highlight the shift from project-based to product-led culture and the transition to agile methodologies.

“Each team has their own areas of concern, their own pain points,” notes Parisotto. “Thinking through how MACH can address those challenges not only builds the case for transitioning to a new technology approach, it lays the groundwork for how to do it well by building a collective understanding of the ways these teams operate and their core needs going forward.”

Developer & IT teams

While the CIO, CTO and Head of Engineering will appreciate the technology benefits, addressing potential concerns around team transitions, vendor relations and operational shifts is essential. 

Emphasizing MACH's workflow automation, scalability, improved developer experience and talent retention value can help secure their buy-in. Highlighting reduced complexity and technical debt can further alleviate reservations. Discuss talent assessment and changes in roles, incentives and budgeting approaches for a comprehensive angle. 

Executive leadership

Finally, present a business case to the CFO and CEO outlining ROI, TCO, CLV and strategic alignment. Connect MACH to financial outcomes and the company's overall vision to get their sign-off. 

Underscore intangible benefits like business empowerment and talent retention to showcase the breadth of advantages MACH delivers. Emphasize the importance of continuous leadership support through steering committees and alignment on priorities.

“The long-term advantage of a MACH architecture,” adds Parisotto, “Is that it gives you the ability to scale, compose, and adapt rapidly — all crucially important parts of future-proofing your business and materially important to your CFO and CEO."

Get MACH-ready 

Following this "daisy-chain" approach of obtaining stakeholder after stakeholder support builds an ironclad case. By tailoring messaging to each audience and highlighting specific MACH benefits, companies can securely get the buy-in required for a successful transformation. 

Maintaining clarity on the "why" further ensures teams stay aligned throughout the process. Careful change management and risk mitigation further cement successful adoption. Along with setting expectations on timelines and using phased transition approaches, this strategy lays the foundation for successful digital transformation.

Learn how to prepare your business for digital transformation

Read the white paper