Modular Vs Monolithic Digital experience platform
As marketers and the businesses recover from the pandemic, some of the core values that’ll come into focus include relentless customer experience, continuous vision for innovation, and business commitment to relevancy, and trustworthiness. The brands which are functioning in isolation and digital siloed systems are losing competitive advantage to the ones which have integrated digital experiences.
There has been a shift in the organizational mindset and how they embrace digital platforms. There can be different benefits that organizations extract by implementing different kinds of DXP strategies. Understanding the pros and cons of using DXP as a full suite, or the best-of-breed, enables organizations in making the right decision for a higher ROI.
However, there’s nothing called one size fits all. Broadly the strategy can be segmented in two parts- monolithic DXP, and modular DXP.
Monolithic or Holy Grail All-In-One DXP
Multitudes of brands have recognized that there’s a huge landscape for managing digital siloes. Additionally, these brands accept their inability to work in unison with tailored solutions meant for realizing customer intent. As a result, to bridge the gap between organization’s inability, and unmet need, technology vendors came up with monolithic solutions for digital experiences. These are also called the single-vendor solutions which can string together the integrated tools for delivering digital experiences to masses.
A monolithic system is the one where all functionalities are managed by a single service or tool, which is known as “suites.” Each function is dependent upon the system health. In a monolithic system, it becomes impossible to swap a single functionality with another vendor. All the teams are locked within a single ecosystem. The greatest advantage of monolithic DXP vendor strategy is getting the service and support from one source. With a single vendor a medium to large enterprise can save on time, budget and resources. Some of the benefits of monolithic system are-
- Easy deployment since all that’s required is lift the previously prepared app, and re-use it for the server.
- Easy application of different components like scripts, templates, and framework.
- Easy testing.
- Easy development and starting of a new project.
Some examples of monolithic DXP vendors are SAP CX, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), and Salesforce Cloud. All these are the full stack solutions for DXPs.
MACH or Modular or Best-in-Class Components and Integration DXP
MACH DXPs means Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless ecosystem. Different components can be made modular, which allows businesses to deploy new features, and move towards innovation in a faster manner.
A single, all-in-one solution may keep your business off the potential for getting the best of all software that specialize in core strength. There’s always a difference in creating a CRM, versus ecommerce solution, versus a CMS. The vendors who facilitate the best in niche may be the right kind of DXP. Some of the benefits of using modular DXPs include-
- Modular DXPs can be scaled easily, based on organizational demand. This allows organizations considerable cost reduction.
- Additionally, modular DXPs reduce vendor lock-in, which means that it is simpler to swap components when the digital strategy starts evolving.
- A modular DXP strategy helps in keeping pace with the ever-changing and evolving digital journey.
- Such a system allows for tailor-made unique business strategy according to the present business requirement.
Most businesses prefer to use modular or microservices as their DXP strategy because of the flexibility, scalability, and personalization.
There has been a rising trend among organizations to depart from monolithic DXP strategy and move towards a modular architecture. Microservices do not limit the organizations in capabilities, and ambitions, which makes it a popular and much-preferred option among businesses. Additionally, it has relieved programmers in maintenance of large projects. Headless DXP approach with modular architecture exposed through API allows brands to disseminate faster experiences to their customers. At the same time, it enables them to evolve their relationship with customers over time.
A right DXP strategy and what is the kind that you must follow, is dependable on multiple factors like time, budget, and the industry your business belongs to.
