What is Composability and Why Should You Care?

Composability is the ability to interconnect and integrate different parts together to build a whole. Flexible because you can mix and match, composability also adds scalability and agility, as you can continue to swap and build.

Have you ever tried putting together a piece of furniture or equipment and found yourself frustrated with a mess of parts that don’t seem to fit together easily? We’ve all been there. But when something is designed with composability in mind, all the pieces seamlessly work together.

For businesses today, composability matters because it allows you to future-proof your tech stack. With composable systems, you have flexibility and agility. You can swap out certain components as needed without having to overhaul the entire system. You can adopt new technologies at your own pace and you’re not locked into a single vendor’s way of doing things.

What Exactly is Composability?

Composability means the ability to assemble different parts together to build a whole. The parts effortlessly interconnect and integrate, allowing you to mix and match as needed to best suit your needs.

For example, think of LEGO bricks. Each brick is designed to connect with other bricks in lots of different ways. You can take a few simple bricks and assemble them into something more complex like a house, a car or whatever you can imagine.

In software, this refers to combining independent tools and services to create integrated digital experiences. You are building systems from small, independent parts that can be easily reconfigured or replaced. This is in contrast to the traditional monolithic architecture where everything is bundled tightly together. In other words, you create components that are:

• Highly reusable: Each component has a single, focused purpose so it can be used in many different applications.
• Loosely coupled: Components don’t depend too much on each other so you can swap components in and out easily.
• Based on standards: Components use common interfaces and data formats to connect, like JSON APIs or web services.

Why is Composability Important?

Simply put, it gives you flexibility and control. Composability allows you to avoid being locked into a single vendor’s system. You’re not stuck with whatever features and functions come out of the box. Instead, you can pick and choose components from different providers and connect them together. This “mix-and-match” approach means you only pay for what you actually need and use.

Composability also makes it much easier to adapt to change. As new technologies emerge or business requirements shift, you can swap in new components without having to replace the entire system. Staying up-to-date with the latest innovations is key to delivering the experiences your customers expect.

The Limitations of Monolithic Architectures

Monolithic architectures, where all parts of a software system are intertwined and interdependent, pose some significant limitations. These include:

Inflexibility

Monolithic systems are inflexible. Any changes to one part of the system can impact other areas in unforeseen ways. Adding new features or updating existing functions often requires rewriting or retesting large portions of the codebase. This makes the system slow and expensive to adapt to new needs.

Scalability Issues

It is hard to scale a monolithic system. If one part of the system such as the login function experiences high traffic volumes, the entire system has to scale to handle the increased load. This is inefficient and costly. In contrast, a modular system allows individual components to scale independently.

Tight Coupling

In a monolithic architecture, components are tightly coupled together. They are dependent on the implementation details of other parts of the system. This tight coupling reduces flexibility and reusability. It is difficult to reuse components in other systems or swap out one component for another.

Vendor Lock-in

Monolithic systems usually rely on a single vendor or technology stack. If that vendor or technology goes out of business or becomes obsolete, the entire system is at risk. Migrating to a new system requires a complete overhaul. In a composable architecture built from modular components, some parts of the system can be swapped out without impacting the rest.

How Does Sitefinity Enable Composability?

Monolithic systems were suitable for simple software, but as digital experiences have become more sophisticated, modular and composable architectures have emerged as a more flexible, scalable alternative. By breaking down a system into reusable components, composability addresses the key limitations of monolithic designs.

With a composable digital experience platform (DXP) like Progress Sitefinity, you’re not limited to a predefined set of features. You can integrate the capabilities you need from different vendors and stitch them together. For example, you may use Sitefinity for content management, sync with ecommerce, integrate your CRM system and connect a marketing automation platform.

Sitefinity provides an open, extensible architecture with powerful integration capabilities. It can connect with various third-party systems and services through REST APIs and webhooks. Sitefinity also supports the use of open-source libraries and tools. This means you have flexibility in choosing the right ancillary technologies to build a complete digital experience platform tailored to your needs.

Sitefinity CMS provides a composable content experience. Its components—like content types, fields, templates, widgets and modules—are designed to work together in a flexible way. You can combine these building blocks to create customized solutions that meet your unique needs.

The key is that all components share a common API and data model, so they integrate seamlessly. You’re not locked into any predefined templates or page layouts. With Sitefinity CMS, you have the freedom to compose your ideal content experience.

Some of the other ways Sitefinity enables composability include:

Modular Components: In Progress Sitefinity, components include things like:

• Content creation elements (text fields, images, videos, etc.)
• Personalization tools (content targeting, A/B testing)
• Analytics dashboards
• Ecommerce features

These components can be mixed and matched to meet your specific needs. If you only want an analytics dashboard and an ecommerce cart, you can enable just those components. This flexibility allows you to start with what you need now and add more components as your needs evolve.

Connectors: Sitefinity provides connectors to integrate with various third-party systems and services. If there’s not a built-in connector, you can easily develop your own to connect Sitefinity to any external system in a straightforward low-code approach.

Extensibility: Extensibility allows developers to customize and extend the platform’s capabilities according to specific business needs. This might involve creating custom modules, widgets, connectors or integrations.

Customer Success Stories

Better Ecommerce Experience For Tom Tailor

In a span of just three months, Progress Sitefinity played a pivotal role in transforming Tom Tailor’s digital landscape, resulting in an ecommerce experience that outperformed its physical stores by 10%. Faced with the challenge of transitioning to online sales due to the pandemic, Tom Tailor sought a robust solution. The platform they were using lacked the necessary ecommerce capabilities and content management functionality.

Progress Sitefinity, coupled with Ucommerce integration, provided a comprehensive solution. This amalgamation not only streamlined content management but also empowered Tom Tailor to seamlessly oversee their ecommerce journey from a single platform, minimizing IT overhead costs. The platform’s compatibility with key systems, including ERP and image CDN, ensured a dynamic and engaging shopping experience. As a testament to its success, the online store generated an additional 10% revenue without additional marketing expenses. Moreover, Sitefinity’s user-friendly content editing capabilities empowered Tom Tailor’s marketing team to manage the site independently, reducing agency retainer costs by 70%. Rapid adaptability to a changing business landscape saw the launch of the first regional site in under three months, 50% faster than competing vendors’ offers.

Improved Multisite Management for NTU Singapore

Nanyang Technological University in Singapore faced the challenge of managing over 150 websites under one domain while maintaining consistent branding and enhancing user experience. To address this, they turned to Progress Sitefinity’s multisite capabilities. The university migrated from Microsoft SharePoint to Sitefinity as its primary CMS, utilizing multisite management for its diverse array of websites.

By deploying Sitefinity’s Multisite Management tools, NTU consolidated its numerous websites under a single domain, integrating third-party platforms crucial to the student experience. This approach facilitated streamlined content management, intuitive design and brand consistency. The results were significant: an 18.5% increase in organic web searches and an 11% decrease in page bounces. Moreover, an internal survey revealed high user satisfaction with the redesign, particularly regarding ease of navigation, design language and content management.

Do More with Progress Sitefinity

Whether you’re looking to personalize websites, enable digital self-service, enhance ecommerce, manage multiple brands or execute cross-channel campaigns, Sitefinity’s comprehensive toolset provides endless opportunities for crafting outstanding digital journeys. Get a demo here.