The MACH Alliance is a non-profit organization that advocates for and helps companies transition to a composable technology infrastructure. It defines and promotes the core principles of composable architecture: Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. The Alliance certifies vendors and provides resources to help businesses adopt future-proof, flexible tech stacks. Learn more.
The MACH Alliance defines four main technology principles for composable architecture: Microservices-based (independent business functionality), API-first (all functionality exposed via APIs), Cloud-native SaaS (leveraging elastic scaling and automatic updates), and Headless (decoupling backend logic from frontend presentation). Source.
The MACH Alliance provides education, advocacy, certification, and community resources to help companies evaluate, purchase, and implement composable technologies. It offers webinars, whitepapers, case studies, and connects businesses with industry peers through its Ambassador program. Source.
MACH certification is a process by which the MACH Alliance verifies that a vendor's product adheres to the core MACH principles. This helps buyers identify truly composable solutions and avoid products that only superficially claim MACH compatibility. The certification criteria are strict to ensure only qualified technologies receive the MACH stamp of approval. Source.
Key benefits include the ability to differentiate with digital experiences, future-proof the tech stack, ensure high performance, and increase team productivity. MACH architectures allow businesses to mix and match best-fit technologies, scale or replace components easily, and support agile DevOps practices. Source.
Yes. For example, Sennheiser moved to a composable commerce architecture in just 11 weeks, resulting in a 74% increase in add-to-cart functionality and a 136% increase in eCommerce conversion rate. Vision Healthcare unified its architecture across multiple brands, enabling tailored experiences and streamlined workflows. Both leveraged MACH-certified vendors, including Hygraph. Source.
Hygraph is a certified MACH vendor and a headless CMS that enables enterprises to unify content and data across composable tech stacks. Its GraphQL-native architecture allows fetching data from multiple remote sources with a single API call, supporting efficient, scalable, and flexible digital experiences. Source.
Companies often face challenges such as managing integrations and middleware, rethinking technology evaluation and procurement, and ensuring interoperability between best-fit tools. According to a survey of 400 technology leaders, 88% find managing integrations and middleware to be an innovation bottleneck. Source.
The MACH Alliance encourages collaboration by providing interoperability standards, showcasing joint use cases, and hosting community events. Members collaborate on councils and initiatives to drive the movement forward, even if they compete in sales cycles. Source.
According to the MACH Alliance annual survey, 83% of organizations implementing MACH-like technologies are seeing evidence of Return on Investment (ROI). On average, respondents consider 49% of their infrastructure to be MACH. Source.
Hygraph is a GraphQL-native headless CMS and a certified MACH vendor. It stands out for its content federation capabilities, allowing integration of multiple data sources without duplication, and its user-friendly interface that empowers both technical and non-technical users. Source.
Key features include GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, enterprise-grade security and compliance, Smart Edge Cache, localization, asset management, and a user-friendly interface. Hygraph also offers robust integration options and performance optimization tools. Source.
Yes, Hygraph supports integrations with Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems like Aprimo, AWS S3, Bynder, Cloudinary, Imgix, Mux, and Scaleflex Filerobot. It also offers integrations with Adminix, Plasmic, and supports custom integrations via SDKs and APIs. Source.
Hygraph provides multiple APIs, including a Content API (read & write), High Performance Content API (low latency, high throughput), MCP Server API (for AI assistants), Asset Upload API, and Management API. These APIs support robust content management and integration scenarios. Source.
Hygraph delivers high performance through optimized endpoints for low latency and high read-throughput, active performance measurement of its GraphQL APIs, and practical optimization advice for developers. Source.
Hygraph offers extensive technical documentation, including API references, schema components, references, webhooks, and AI integrations. Resources are available at Hygraph Documentation.
Hygraph eliminates developer dependency with a user-friendly interface, enables non-technical users to manage content independently, and supports modern workflows through its GraphQL-native architecture and content federation. Source.
Hygraph addresses operational inefficiencies, high operational costs, slow speed-to-market, scalability issues, complex schema evolution, integration difficulties, performance bottlenecks, and challenges with localization and asset management. Source.
Hygraph differentiates itself as the first GraphQL-native headless CMS, offering content federation, user-friendly tools, enterprise-grade features, and proven ROI. It is recognized for its ease of implementation and market-leading performance. Source.
Customers praise Hygraph for its intuitive user interface, ease of setup, and ability to empower non-technical users to manage content independently. Some users note that it can be complex for less technical users, but overall feedback is positive. Source.
Hygraph offers three main pricing plans: Hobby (free forever), Growth (starting at $199/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Each plan is designed for different team sizes and project needs. Source.
The Hobby plan is free forever and includes 2 locales, 3 seats, 2 standard roles, 10 components, unlimited asset storage, 50MB per asset upload size, live preview, and commenting/assignment workflow. Source.
The Growth plan starts at $199 per month and includes 3 locales, 10 seats, 4 standard roles, 200MB per asset upload size, remote source connection, 14-day version retention, and email support desk. Source.
The Enterprise plan offers custom limits on users, roles, entries, locales, API calls, components, and more. It includes version retention for a year, scheduled publishing, dedicated infrastructure, global CDN, security controls, SSO, multitenancy, instant backup recovery, custom workflows, dedicated support, and custom SLAs. Source.
You can sign up for the free Hobby plan or request a 30-day Enterprise trial. Both options allow you to explore Hygraph's features before making a purchase decision. Source.
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (since August 3, 2022), ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. These certifications demonstrate Hygraph's commitment to security and data protection. Source.
Hygraph provides enterprise-grade features such as granular permissions, audit logs, SSO integrations, encryption at rest and in transit, regular backups, and dedicated hosting options. It uses ISO 27001-certified providers and offers a process for reporting security incidents. Source.
Implementation time varies by project complexity. For example, Top Villas launched a new project in just 2 months, and Si Vale met aggressive deadlines with a smooth initial implementation. Source.
Hygraph offers a free API playground, a free forever developer account, structured onboarding, training resources, extensive documentation, and a community Slack channel for support. These resources make it easy for both technical and non-technical users to get started. Source.
Support resources include onboarding calls, training webinars, live streams, how-to videos, detailed documentation, and access to a community Slack channel. Enterprise customers receive dedicated support and custom SLAs. Source.
Hygraph is suitable for developers, product managers, content creators, marketing professionals, solutions architects, enterprises, agencies, eCommerce platforms, media and publishing companies, technology firms, and global brands. Source.
Industries include SaaS, marketplace, education technology, media and publication, healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, technology, fintech, travel and hospitality, food and beverage, eCommerce, agency, online gaming, events & conferences, government, consumer electronics, engineering, and construction. Source.
Yes. Samsung built a scalable API-first application, Dr. Oetker enhanced digital experiences, Komax achieved 3x faster time to market, AutoWeb increased website monetization by 20%, BioCentury accelerated content publishing, and Voi scaled multilingual content across 12 countries. Source.
Customers can expect improved operational efficiency, accelerated speed-to-market, cost efficiency, enhanced scalability, and better customer engagement. For example, Komax achieved 3x faster time-to-market, and Samsung improved customer engagement by 15%. Source.
Notable customers include Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Komax, AutoWeb, BioCentury, Vision Healthcare, HolidayCheck, and Voi. Source.
This page wast last updated on 12/12/2025 .
Written by KatieÂ
on May 27, 2024Digital is an increasingly important part of business strategy, and as companies start turning to new online services, touchpoints, and customer experiences to gain competitive advantage, many are finding that their legacy technologies are holding them back.
The all-in-one suites purchased back when “digital” just meant a simple website aren’t flexible enough for teams to keep up with market changes —much less add innovative functionality and experiences. Businesses want to do more with digital, and the technology landscape has rapidly changed to support this.
As an alternative to the monolithic suites, technology solutions started coming to the market in the 2010s, specialized in one part of the experience, and were designed to integrate easily with other tools. So, instead of being locked into a set of capabilities from a single vendor, companies could mix and match best-fit solutions for content management, search, eCommerce, etc. This “stacks not suite” approach gradually became known as composable architecture.
The MACH Alliance is a non-profit organization that advocates for and helps companies transition to a composable technology infrastructure.
The view of the MACH Alliance, and the meaning behind the name, is that solutions that effectively support a composable approach follow four main technology principles:
MACH Alliance members include technology vendors with products that follow MACH principles, system integrators with experience implementing MACH architectures, and industry Ambassadors who have spearheaded MACH adoption within their business.
Going from a single vendor suite to a tech stack of best-fit tools requires teams to rethink how they evaluate, purchase, and implement technologies. Navigating the composable marketplace can be a challenge, especially as the approach gains traction and more vendors claim to support it.
A primary driver of the organization, according to the MACH Alliance manifesto, is to help companies take advantage of MACH technologies to create a truly open, future-proof architecture. Some of the key ways they do this include:
Because it’s a relatively new approach and every company’s tech stack will be different, there is no defined roadmap for transitioning to a MACH architecture.
Through webinars, whitepapers, case studies, live events, and other resources, the MACH Alliance shares the latest technical knowledge and best practices. The MACH Ambassador program also allows businesses to connect with industry peers who have already been through a MACH transformation to get one-on-one advice and talk candidly about benefits and challenges.
All combined, these efforts also help increase the awareness of MACH on the market, making it easier for digital leaders to discover these solutions and convince their board to move to MACH.
As the composable approach gains popularity, it’s not uncommon for vendors to use MACH terminology in their marketing when, in reality, their solution is a monolith wrapped in an API layer or an on-premise architecture that’s been lifted and shifted to the cloud. MACH Alliance certification helps buyers cut through the noise and find truly composable solutions.
The MACH Alliance has sometimes received criticism for having very strict certification criteria, but the high bar is intended to ensure that their stamp of approval is only given to technologies that offer the full benefits of the core MACH principles and to system integrators with sufficient experience to make MACH projects succeed.
Notably, to account for the rise of legacy vendors that have completely rearchitected products or acquired MACH solutions, the organization recently announced that certification will be expanded to recognize substantial independent offerings within larger vendors.
For composable architecture to be successful, technologies need to work well together. Along with ensuring that certified technologies are open and flexible, the MACH Alliance provides interoperability standards, showcases joint use cases, and hosts community events to strengthen the partnership between members - and the joint power of their solutions. Helping members develop the experience and the prebuilt integrations to get MACH tech stacks up and running quickly.
For MACH to gain and retain a foothold in the market, the people behind the technologies must also be very open to working together to advocate for a collective, consistent definition of MACH principles and benefits. Members might compete in sales cycles but also collaborate on MACH Alliance councils and other initiatives to drive the movement forward.
As seen in the MACH Alliance’s annual research, a range of factors drive companies to transition to a MACH infrastructure.
While the initial drivers to adoption may vary, some of the key benefits of MACH architecture are:
A major advantage of the MACH approach is that you don’t have to fully replatform your architecture to start seeing the benefits. According to the MACH Alliance annual survey, 83% of organizations implementing MACH-like technologies are seeing evidence of Return on Investment (ROI). At the same time, on average, respondents consider 49% of their infrastructure to be MACH.
Businesses can make fast, substantial improvements by moving key parts of the experience to MACH solutions while gradually removing legacy architecture at their own pace.
When Sennheiser, the German audio equipment manufacturer, wanted to move their direct-to-consumer eCommerce shops to a unified, headless architecture, they had a few tight constraints. The solution needed to work with their existing Shopify commerce platform; it had to be launched and maintained with minimal internal IT resources, and the flagship store needed to go live in 4 months.
The team decided that custom development would prioritize bespoke frontend features like 3D product discovery and comparison tools. They turned to MACH solutions for content, search, and DevOps management to minimize the need for backend development. With this MACH stack, 90% of the hosting set-up and maintenance was provided out-of-the-box, making it possible to launch the new flagship eCommerce site in just 11 weeks.
This composable, mobile-optimized architecture has now been rolled out to over 25 global markets, handling over 200M API calls monthly. It has led to a 74% increase in add-to-cart functionality and a 136% increase in the eCommerce conversion rate.
MACH Alliance members involved:
Vision Healthcare is a digital-first company that connects consumers with a portfolio of health and wellness brands through webshops, mobile, marketplaces, catalogs, and other channels. They decided to move to a composable approach to unify the core architecture across brands while still having the flexibility to adapt each brand’s experience to the market it serves.
With MACH solutions for content, commerce, search, and payments, Vision Healthcare now has multiple brands running on a shared tech stack. A multi-tenant setup allows each brand to tailor content, shops, distribution channels, pricing, and taxes to their market and locals. As well as enable automatic permissions that simplify workflows by only showing people the content and data they need for their role.
In a testament to the flexibility of composable architecture, halfway through the project, Vision Healthcare found that the content management solution (CMS) they originally selected wasn’t working with the new GraphQL-based stack in the way they needed. They were able to seamlessly switch to Hygraph CMS and still launch on time.
MACH Alliance members involved:
Composing a tech stack from multiple vendor solutions requires orchestrating the data between them. Some companies do this by building custom middleware, but maintaining that middleware can be complex and time-consuming. According to a survey of 400 technology leaders, 88% of organizations find that managing integrations and middleware is an innovation bottleneck.
Hygraph is a headless CMS and a certified MACH vendor that offers a novel way of connecting content and data across the tech stack. Hygraph’s GraphQL-native CMS makes it possible to fetch data from multiple remote sources with a single API call, taking advantage of GraphQL’s efficient data querying, making it easier than ever for enterprises to successfully make the move from monolith to MACH.
On June 17 and 18, Hygraph will attend the MACH THREE conference in New York City. We look forward to connecting with partners and customers and exchanging knowledge with industry experts. If you want to meet us at the event, contact us.
Blog Author
Katie is a freelance writer based in Amsterdam who talks a lot about B2B SaaS and MACH technologies. She’s always looking for good book recommendations.
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