The blooming of composable DXP

Feb 22, 2023
  • IT
  • sales, marketing and service
  • Sitecore

The constantly changing customer demand and the improving digital world requires agility and efficient processes. As an answer to that, composable DXPs (digital experience platforms) have appeared on the market and we collected all the information you need to know.

What is a DXP? 

A digital experience platform manages and optimizes all products in one central hub that improves customer experience by enabling smooth interactions on all digital channels. For instance, offering some information on different pages on your website when using a computer and a mobile phone can cause frustration to the user which leads to them quitting the page. The DXP eliminates this risk: in the central hub, all content can be personalized, the security settings can be modified, and customer data can be stored. Thus, this data is more accurate and gives an overall view of both the company’s results and the customers’ habits. 


Although, one can ask what the difference is between this DXP and a CMS (content management system)? While a CMS is solely available to manage – create and publish – contents such as landing pages and blog articles, the DXP takes this to another level. A digital experience platform involves commercial tools besides the digital marketing ones, integrating and personalizing the customer touchpoints. Among the currently available IT tools, DXP is the most efficient choice for a company, however, it is not the monolithic approach that is determinant anymore, but the composable one. 

The composable DXP 

Before the rise of composability, the monolithic systems ruled the market in which all functionalities are depicted in one application. However, during the past years, customer demands multiplied and while trying to answer all the needs, these legacy systems outgrew themselves – resulting in slower and more expensive processes. The continuously changing environment created the need for a scalable digital experience platform, in which ad-hoc developments can be implemented easily, creating competitive advantage for the business on the market. 

By 2023, organizations that adopt a composable approach will outpace their competition by 80% in the speed of new features that they can implement.
Gartner

The comparison og a monolithic and a composable DXP

The goal of the new composable approach is to build a headless sustainable system by separating the frontend and the backend which makes small and quick changes possible in case of any upcoming demands in the future. To do so, the DXP is assembled from smaller and independent PBCs (packaged business capabilities), which can flexibly be modified or deleted, and which are communicating with each other through APIs. This way, we can use personalized solutions that align with our business goals on all channels, while the latter developments can easily be added, too. This approach is not only more efficient, but also more cost-effective as there is no need to buy the entire system, only the necessary - and best - elements.


The benefits of a composable DXP 

Higher ROI 

A composable DXP is more cost-effective than an extended legacy system, plus it enables the company to generate profit sooner thanks to the separate parts. Thus, this solution brings higher return on investment in the long run. 


Quick reactivity 

Separating the frontend and the backend and the use of the PBCs create the opportunity to manage all parts distinctively which means that in case of an error or a development, the modifications can be finished quickly. We do not need to change the whole structure, and this minimizes the risks while saving time. 


High-level flexibility 

The integration of external platforms to monolithic systems is quite complicated, while the composable DXP turns this into an advantage: new tools can be added to the existing PBCs anytime, improving the customer experience. 


Future-proof structure 

As slight changes can be implemented quickly and cheaply, we do not have to worry about what trends will appear in the industry in the future. Any demands can be met without reshaping the entire system, not to mention that a composable DXP makes the transfer to cloud-based technology faster. 


Overall view of the customer 

A digital experience platform offers an overall experience for customers, resulting in collecting realistic data. We can learn how our customers behave on each channel and can make greater decisions according to those. 


Personalized user experience 

Automatized content management creates an opportunity to follow the customer trends and to answer them effectively: the channels can be combined flexibly. In the headless system it is more than enough to focus on one particular PBC, thus the complexity of processes is reduced while the customers feel like our service was made for them. 


Transparency 

Unlike monolithic systems, a composable architecture is transparent, so errors can be found easily. If we know where the bug is, we only need to check that part of the code. 


Low risk 

Given that the systems run separately, an error cannot cause bugs nowhere else. This means that we only need to focus on the parts concerned.

How to start the composable conversion? 

Composability is an approach that strengthens the market position of a company. As we are not speaking of a concrete method but a mindset, the conversion does not happen overnight. In the beginning, we need to make sure that this is the right direction for our business by answering the following questions: 

  • Is there enough capital? Implementing a composable DXP requires a big initial investment, so it is only advised to start on this journey if the company has the resources. 
  • Do we improve the system regularly? If yes, the complexity that is typical for monolithic systems can occur, which only results in more costs and working hours for the business. In case there are developments often, a composable DXP can be the right direction. 
  • Do we offer a complex service? When an organization answers different needs on different channels, it is often capable of a composable conversion, and should do that as well. This way, all channels can be suited according to their users’ needs. 
  • Do we offer a unique solution? One of the biggest advantages of composability is adaptibility which is not available in monolithic systems. The most efficient developments can be made without the need to change other things.


When going through the questions, we can make sure whether the composable solution is suitable for our company or not. If it is, then the first step is to choose the simplest features of the current system and start transforming these by separating the frontend and the backend – to do this, you will need a JavaScript-based frontend. When the smaller tasks are done, we need to deal with the complex parts until the whole DXP is composable. 


The composable DXP is the solution of the future, so for the companies who are suitable for this approach, it is recommended to start the conversion before the whole market does. By doing so, a huge competitive advantage can be acquired and the whole business can run smoothly. 

At delaware, we are working together with three of the praised vendors by Gartner (Sitecore, Optimizely, Kentico), so, in case you are interested in any of those DXPs, contact our professionals for more information. 

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