Companies worldwide recognize the urgency to modernize their technologies to stay relevant and competitive. With rising customer expectations, businesses must deliver content that is both diverse and personalized.

Traditionally, companies relied solely on their content management systems (CMS) for managing content. However, the modern digital landscape demands integrating multiple tools and embracing agility to create engaging experiences. This shift has introduced terms like composability, composable DXPs, and other tech jargon. But what do these terms mean?

This glossary will help you understand composability and other essential concepts in today’s digital world. Let’s first explore why composable architecture is trending.

Composable Architecture: Why Is It Trending?

Modern front-end frameworks, APIs, and cloud-based SaaS products offer businesses numerous options for structuring their tech stacks. Enterprises find that a composable architecture supports their digital aspirations with several key benefits:

• Flexibility: Choose the best tools for specific needs and easily replace technologies that no longer meet goals.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Lower upfront costs by opting for lightweight, headless solutions instead of bulky traditional software.
• Agility: Quickly adapt to volatile markets and changing business needs.

To remain competitive, businesses are embracing composability and related concepts. Here’s a glossary to help you navigate these terms.

Glossary

Composability/Composable Architecture
An architectural principle for designing systems with independent yet interrelated business functions. Composable systems allow components to be assembled in various combinations to meet specific business requirements.

Composable Commerce
An approach to building eCommerce systems by selecting best-of-breed tools and assembling them into one cohesive stack.

API
An application programming interface (API) allows applications to communicate and access data and features of other applications without needing to understand their internal workings.

CMS
A content management system (CMS) is used to create, edit, and distribute content across digital channels. Types include traditional CMS and headless CMS.

DXP
A digital experience platform (DXP) is a set of integrated technologies that support the creation, management, delivery, optimization, and conceptualization of digital experiences.

Composable DXP
A digital experience platform assembled from best-of-breed solutions, managing digital experiences across various touchpoints. These tools are connected via APIs, enabling flexibility and integration.

Suite DXP
An all-in-one digital experience platform typically containing a CMS and other business functions like analytics, personalization, and digital asset management.

Headless CMS
A CMS that decouples the frontend presentation layer from the backend content repository. Communication between the two layers is through APIs, enabling content delivery to any device or channel.

Headless Commerce
The separation of an eCommerce store’s frontend, where customers interact, from the backend, which handles order processing and inventory management.

Best of Breed
An approach to software selection where businesses choose the best vendor for each specific use case. For example, selecting different vendors for analytics software, CMS, and DAM.

MACH
An acronym for Microservices, APIs, Cloud-native, and Headless. MACH architecture technologies support composable architecture, allowing components to be easily integrated and replaced as needed.

Jamstack
A modern web development architecture built on JavaScript, APIs, and Markup. Jamstack sites pre-render content, with JavaScript handling dynamic functionality via APIs.

Single Page Application (SPA)
A web-based application that loads a single HTML page and dynamically updates content as the user interacts, providing a smoother user experience.

Static Site
A website with pre-rendered web pages stored on a server or content delivery network (CDN), ready for immediate consumption by browsers.

Dynamic Site
A website that changes content in real-time, using client-side JavaScript and APIs to deliver personalized experiences.

MACH Alliance
A group of organizations advocating for an open and best-of-breed technology ecosystem.

Modular
A design principle where a system is divided into independent modules that can be created, modified, exchanged, or replaced with other systems.

Microservices
Small applications focusing on a single business function, deployed, scaled, and replaced independently from other components of the software platform.

Cloud-native
Software designed to run in the cloud, easily provisioned, and elastically scaled to meet demand.

Monolithic Architecture
Software systems where multiple business functions are tightly coupled in a single application. Monolithic systems lack the flexibility of modern systems and can hinder meeting current customer needs.

Stay Up to Date on Emerging Trends with Content Bloom

Composability and related terms are part of the evolving technology landscape. To maximize your business’s potential, you need expert support.

Content Bloom is an enterprise digital consultancy with a wealth of experience in designing and implementing composable systems. Discover how we can help your business capitalize on the latest trends by exploring our comprehensive list of services.

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