IKEA, MARS, Ulta Beauty and Influential Brands to be Featured at MACH THREE Conference

As we turn the corner towards summer in the Northern Hemisphere, things are heating up in the composable world.

Fresh off the publication of chiefmartec's 2024 State of Martech Report – where composability was a key topic across the 14,106 products in the marketing technology landscape – we're also a month away from the industry's premier composable conference: MACH THREE.

This is the third edition of the annual event hosted by the MACH Alliance, a group of independent tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems. Buoyed by an array of sessions that aim to educate and elevate the understanding of MACH (Microservices, APIs, Cloud-first SaaS, Headless), the MACH THREE event promises to inspire attendees to “supercharge their composable journey."

Today, the organization announced some juicy details regarding the roster for MACH THREE, which will be held in New York City from June 17 - 18. This is the first time the conference is slated for North America, signaling an important shift in focus toward the U.S. – which has been slower to adopt MACH but is now showing accelerated growth. 

In fact, an analysis provided in the MACH Alliance's first annual report – published in January of this year – underscores the opportunities ahead for the addressable U.S. market, and where the Alliance sees future potential to expand the MACH footprint. 

The MACH THREE agenda will feature heavy hitters like IKEA, MARS, and Ulta Beauty. But it will also include presentations from influential global brands like H&M, Kraft Heinz, Mattel, Rally House, Clarks, Saks Fifth Avenue, and OBI. During the two-day conference, these industry leaders will discuss the innovative digital experiences they have created using MACH architectures, as well as the many benefits and challenges of embracing digital transformation with a composable strategy. 

“MACH THREE is not about technology providers sharing sales pitches or demos, it’s about brands showcasing their digital strategies, what worked and what didn’t,” said Holly Hall, managing director at the MACH Alliance. “MACH THREE is an essential part of the MACH Alliance’s commitment to being a facilitator of education and advocacy around MACH principles, especially in the U.S. as this market becomes a strong advocate and adopter of MACH technologies.”

The conference is free, and registration is open to business and technology leaders by application. They even offer a rebate program to cover travel expenses, which is a limited offer but nonetheless an attractive give (better act quickly on this one).

CMS Critic attended last year's MACH TWO conference in Amsterdam and covered it in detail. For a glimpse at what to expect in New York, read what this world-class event offered in 2023.

A packed agenda focused on MACH

As retailers and brands strive to create a flexible, future-proofed digital ecosystem that promotes the best customer experience possible, MACH architecture has emerged as a leading differentiator. According to the 2023 MACH Alliance Annual Report, 85% of respondents have increased MACH investment in the past 12 months – and the U.S. has now surpassed Europe in the rate of MACH adoption. 

This trend was already being felt at last year's MACH TWO Conference. During the media session, Kelly Goetsch – former MACH Alliance Chair and CSO of commercetool – observed that MACH “now feels like the default,” and that “we’re no longer advocating from the sidelines.” 

The MACH Alliance's annual conference series provides the connective tissue for the MACH movement, bringing together a community of members and customers to highlight successful use cases and real-world applications. This year's MACH THREE promises to explore and educate about the continued evolution of MACH through the voices of industry-leading brands. This includes mainstage keynotes from Kraft Heinz, H&M, and more that will showcase MACH successes from initial deployment to long-term results.

Along with the keynotes, MACH THREE will feature leadership sessions and peer-to-peer discussions that will provide insights into how brands can succeed in their composable journeys with unparalleled agility. As with previous events, there will be focused “MACH in Practice” workshops to help educate attendees on real-world MACH implementations that foster competitive advantages.

Attendees will also have access to “MACH Creates” sessions, which will highlight how a MACH foundation can give brands the flexibility to experiment with the next generation of AI-driven SaaS.

“From listening to the head of digital experience at The Kraft Heinz Company talk about the CPG revolution to hearing the senior director of digital engineering at Ulta Beauty explain how to innovate under pressure, MACH THREE will be an educational and inspirational experience for attendees,” said Casper Rasmussen, president of the MACH Alliance. “By being open and transparent about all facets of MACH technology, attendees will leave feeling confident they have the 360-degree picture needed to approach their own digital transformations.”

Why it matters

Despite its meteoric rise, MACH continues to be an exotic topic in the annals of techdom. While it has appreciated significant growth, it still represents a small piece of the overall pie. The trend of composability is certainly more ubiquitous, but it, too, struggles to be clearly understood due to a myriad of mixed marketing messages. 

As we've reported, this is visible in the competitive morass betwixt legacy monolithic DXPs and headless CMSes, many of whom claim to be composable, though not all MACH. In an open letter to the market, the Alliance openly invited companies that are claiming to the MACH (affectionately referred to as “MACH Washing”) to apply for certification in an effort to reduce confusion for buyers. 

That's why education is so important – and why it continues to be a key pillar of the MACH Alliance. Expressing this through digital content is table stakes, but live events provide a tangible backdrop for focusing on solutions, sharing ideas, and experiencing the real people behind the successes and failures (it's true, not all MACH stories have a happy ending). 

As Holly Hall also pointed out, this isn't a typical tradeshow where the primary motion is sales – and that's a refreshing distinction. Networking and the precipitous “elbow-rubbing” are par for the course; as such, connections and deals may emerge effervescently. But the agenda is laser-focused on learning, and that makes the experience more enriching. 

With over 100 members in its composable cabal, the MACH Alliance keeps demonstrating its relevance to the market. That said, it isn't without its detractors, and that feedback has resulted in a heightened commitment to transparency and a resolve to open its membership to products within larger brands. It's evolving, and the vision for its roadmap is best experienced by inspirational leaders like Casper Rasmussen during an interactive keynote with Q&As.  

The bench of brands on display will provide robust examples of MACH at scale. More importantly, these industry leaders lend greater credibility to the adoption of MACH, and having so many assembled in one place is a great opportunity to learn and reflect, regardless of where you might be on your MACH journey. 

It will be difficult to one-up the MACH TWO event from an experiential perspective. Last year's conference was world-class in every dimension, from substance to location to accouterments. Even the food reinforced the organization's commitment to DEI with catering from a European B-corp focused on sustainable practices. 

Hosting the event in a cosmopolitan city like New York aligns with the tenets of the MACH Alliance, announcing its focus on U.S. soil with an elevated level of sophistication. The Big Apple is at the epicenter of technology and retail, and multiple industry brands are headquartered here. It's also a city of experiences, and we can be assured that many of its best features will be on display when the event kicks off next month.

MACH takes Manhattan

Will we see you at MACH THREE in NYC? If so, we'd love to hear about your experiences with MACH and composable.

CMS Critic's Matt Garrepy is judging the MACH Impact Awards for the second year in a row. These awards celebrate the best of the best in composable use cases, with some incredibly innovative examples of MACH in action. Check out an overview of last year's awards and the winners. 

To learn more about MACH THREE and register to attend, visit www.machalliance.org/events/mach-three

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