MACH architecture explained. Why we’ve built Meetsales according to its principles
If you want your business to thrive in a digitalized, highly oversaturated world, you need to think outside the box and introduce new ways of thinking to every area of your operations. Sales techniques that worked splendidly ten or even five years ago are already outdated and ineffective. The same goes for tools. The platforms we used at the beginning of the millennium are not relevant anymore. Now we have more advanced, robust, and data-driven ones that can do wonders compared to their forerunners. This progress is natural, and it regulates the market because the players that can’t keep up with market evolution have to move out of the innovators’ way.
That’s the reason why many providers wonder how to create more timeless products and services that can be transformed according to new trends, customers' needs, and market guidelines. Betting on MACH architecture is one of the ways of doing that, and we will focus on it in today’s blog post. One of the reasons we wanted to take a closer look at this subject is that Meetsales was built with the rules of MACH in mind. We knew that its unique features required an architecture that could deliver all the promises we wanted to give to our users.
In this article, we will help you understand what are the components of MACH architectures and why they are important for software solutions in today’s world. Also, we will showcase how Meetsales can benefit your business thanks to its MACH-based construction. Let’s start with the basics.
What is MACH architecture?
MACH is a modern approach to software architecture that allows companies to build scalable, flexible, and secure products. Solutions that are created based on MACH principles are future-proof and easier to update or fix thanks to the non-monolithic design. Each component can be edited or replaced without disrupting the rest of the application. That results in a competitive advantage and improved user experience because bugs are quickly taken care of and new features are introduced shortly after the market demand appears.
The abbreviation ‘MACH’ stands for four components that are included in the formula:
- Microservices - individual features that are developed, implemented, and managed by third-party providers.
- API-first - features are connected with products via API.
- Cloud-based - solutions are hosted and managed on cloud infrastructure instead of on-premises.
- Headless - front-end and back-end layers are separated.
It’s obvious from all these elements that the MACH architecture is highly flexible, composable, and doesn’t require all parts of the project to be done by one entity. Scalability is guaranteed, and the product can be quickly updated whenever it’s required. There is no need to build everything from scratch if you can develop a base that will get all its functionalities from external sources. That also means fewer management responsibilities and lower resource usage. We will discuss all the benefits in the further part of this article.
About MACH Alliance
In order to make it easier for the people who are looking for a viable alternative to monolithic architecture and the companies which want to use this approach in their development process, the MACH Alliance was formed. It’s an organization that promotes the MACH approach to software development and supports companies that want to introduce its principles into their product creation process. Their website includes a manifesto that teaches interested entrepreneurs how to build MACH-friendly solutions and has a knowledge base full of articles on the best practices in that area. They also organize events for MACH enthusiasts.
MACH Alliance is a helpful directory for companies interested in this subject and also a place to find vendors and partners that work according to this philosophy. Companies can join it based on their experience and needs. Thanks to that, the organization enables potential investors to meet their perfect contractors and build robust software products that help their businesses thrive.
Why MACH approach is the best way to develop software?
We’ve already mentioned some of the benefits of the MACH software architecture. It’s time to dive deeper. Each part of the formula provides specific advantages to the companies that will invest in such a style of development. It’s quite obvious that the MACH methodology offers an easier way to deliver high-quality products, faster, and with less risk. Let’s see what each component brings to the table:
Microservices
Writing code in small pieces where each is responsible for only one thing is crucial when it comes to testing and debugging software. Developers can edit only a small piece of a single feature instead of interfering with the whole product structure. When the solution is released, adding new features also becomes simpler thanks to microservices.
API-first design
Apps that operate mainly using API can quickly integrate with other services to become a part of a composable ecosystem that has all functionalities a particular business requires. This reduces the complexity of the final architecture and supports brands that want to extend their capabilities with third-party solutions.
Cloud-based infrastructure
Betting on the cloud instead of building the whole system on-premise has enormous potential. It’s a perfect environment to host your website or web application that doesn’t require any effort from your company’s side regarding hardware maintenance and servers upgrade. It also guarantees excellent security and a high level of accessibility.
Headless approach
Separating the front-end from the back-end has only positive consequences for the development team. When the presentation layer is not completely dependent on the logic layer, changing how it looks or performing A/B tests becomes a piece of cake. The languages and frameworks used to build an app can be mixed and matched for the best end result.
Why we’ve built Meetsales according to MACH guidelines?
Creating a sales enablement tool requires a modern, open-minded approach. It’s a platform that has to be flexible, scalable, and full of handy features. Moreover, it has to constantly introduce new functionalities that are compatible with the newest trends and the needs of customers, salespeople, and their managers. In this case, betting on a monolithic software architecture would be a mistake because updates would take forever. The same goes for maintenance and fixing potential technical malfunctions. Preparing a MACH-compliant architecture means the product is ready for higher traffic, challenging market conditions, and rapid changes.
One of the main pillars of our product are integrations. Meetsales wouldn’t be complete if it couldn’t connect with other solutions in composable commerce ecosystems for B2B sales teams. We decided to build it according to MACH principles because it’s a perfect approach for software developers who want to deliver a product that can seamlessly integrate with external providers.
We know that nowadays it’s impossible to use only one platform in any area of business, so we’ve followed MACH guidelines to build a solution that collaborates with other powerful applications. Meetsales operates as an API-first tool in two respective ways. Some of its features are provided from external sources thanks to API, for example, on-call payments with Stripe. On the other hand, it complements other systems, like CRMs, PIMs, ERPs, and other tools that your team uses on a daily basis.
Our goal when building Meetsales was to create a headless video-based frontend for B2B sales teams. What does it mean exactly? That the product can be perfectly adjusted to your business needs. Back-end, which is the data processing layer, is universal for all our users, but front-end can be shaped to match your company’s requirements. As mentioned, thanks to API it becomes a part of something bigger, a complete work environment your sales department might already be using. Being headless means we can customize most parts of our platform according to your vision.
To explain why we think microservices are the best way to build a complex, advanced sales platform, we want to mention a quote from one of our previous blog articles dedicated to microservices vs. monolithic architectures: “When it comes to microservices (...) the most common advantages are, flexibility, better organization, scalability, improved fault isolation, smaller and faster deployment.” This way, we can constantly improve the functionalities we’ve already implemented and work on the new ones. The rigid nature typical for monolithic apps doesn’t limit us.
Last but not least, our multi-tenant app is hosted on the cloud. Although we offer on-premise implementations for users that will pick the Enterprise pricing plan, cloud servers are considered the best match for most companies. That’s because they don’t have to worry about technical maintenance, which allows them to cut costs and save a lot of time. Cloud is also more secure, easier to update with new features and patches, as well as more accessible, which is crucial for remote teams that operate in the online realm.
Meetsales - your go-to B2B sales web app based on MACH architecture
There are countless benefits of building platforms using MACH guidelines. That’s why many industry experts claim this approach to be the future of software development. When we started our journey of creating Meetsales, we wanted it to be the universal source of truth for enterprise sales teams, which required innovative practices and technologies. Our expansion plan includes advanced data analytics and AI-based features, which also means we need to think about the upcoming project requirements we will have to meet. MACH was the best choice to achieve all of our goals and solve the problems of our target audience.
Two years after we decided to pursue our objective of creating one source of truth for remote B2B sales teams, we provide a web app that meets all the criteria that MACH Alliance mentions in their manifesto. The assumptions about technological revolution and changing customer habits the industry had at the beginning of 2020 became a reality and transformed the way we do business. Expectations towards sales platforms were also revised. All the predictions and trends for 2023 and beyond suggest that companies will need as flexible, scalable, and future-proof products and services, as possible. The MACH approach can be the answer and is definitely worth investing in for all aspiring enterprises that want to thrive in sales and not only.
Check out our 14-day free trial today to see how our platform works. You will get access to basic features that will help you understand better the value Meetsales can provide to your enterprise. Alternatively, reach out to us, schedule a demo and see a real-time presentation of the full version. Sell more and better with Meetsales today!
