MACH Alliance Openly Invites Companies Claiming MACH to Apply for Certification

The MACH Alliance has never been known to “sit one out.” 

The industry organization has always been something of a firebrand, outspoken in its fierce advocacy of MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, Headless) principles.

As MACH momentum grows – and more businesses attempt to ride the hype wave – the MACH Alliance is doubling down on its commitment to ensure buyer clarity by defending its core criteria. This means challenging organizations that openly claim to be MACH but are not certified. 

Today, MACH Alliance President Casper Rasmussen published a candid letter on the organization’s blog and LinkedIn, inviting companies to apply for MACH certification to help avoid buyer confusion. 

The letter was prompted after MACH Alliance members flagged several software brands as falsely advertising MACH solutions without a validated certification. Being certified by the Alliance is the simplest way for a company to verify and showcase that its products meet MACH criteria, and give buyers confidence about what is – and is not – MACH. 

As noted in Casper's letter, the MACH Alliance will be contacting non-certified companies that are making MACH claims and asking them to apply for certification. These companies will also be asked to remove any MACH language or association until certification is achieved. 

An open invitation to apply for MACH certification

Here’s the letter from Casper Rasmussen in its entirety:

Open invite to companies who claim MACH: please apply for certification to avoid buyer confusion

The MACH Alliance exists to propel the future of technology, which is microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. That is what MACH stands for, and our mission is to safeguard MACH standards for the clarity of buyers.

Our certification criteria serve a very clear and important purpose. Providing clarity to the market of what is and what is not MACH, to help buyers build their future-proof application stacks. We guard this strict set of standards fiercely and rigorously benchmark all our members against them. As such, we are concerned to see more companies using MACH wording in their product marketing, promoting their solutions as MACH-ready when they are not MACH certified.

It is a great thing that the market as a whole is quickly moving in the direction of Composable and connectivity through API’s. The MACH Alliance supports that wholeheartedly. Yet Composable is not MACH and being on a Composable track does not validate a MACH claim at all. The prerequisites for MACH Certification are very clear.

We urge all vendors claiming to sell a MACH-ready solution to apply for certification. The criteria and the process are outlined here. Any company that claims to offer MACH should carry the seal.

The Alliance can explicitly only guarantee the interoperability, ease of use and swapability of certified companies. MACH-labeled solutions where vendors don’t meet the certification criteria are undermining the industry standard and causing confusion for buyers at a time when they need our help. We strongly advise buyers to check the

MACH Alliance website to confirm certification in case of any doubt. The MACH Alliance is contacting non-certified companies who are making MACH claims asking them to apply for certification, and to remove those claims until that is achieved.

Furthermore, in some of the recent claims, specific legacy vendors suggest they are offering an enterprise version of MACH. Yet MACH was made in and for the enterprise from the start. MACH is an enterprise setup that requires a level of company maturity, and it has seen massive adoption from enterprise companies like Sephora, Costa Coffee, Mars, Boohoo, Puma, and the list goes on. MACH was made in the enterprise, let there be no misunderstanding.

We will continue to take action to avoid buyer confusion and to protect the seal that we are here to guard. Prove your MACH credentials and get certified!

If any vendor or buyer would like to speak with us about MACH criteria and principles, or requires clarification and support, we’re here to help.

Casper Rasmussen
President, MACH Alliance

Why it matters

Challenging the market is nothing new for the MACH Alliance. 

Peruse the LinkedIn profiles of its leadership board, and you’ll find epic threads and lively debates that have expanded the conversation around composable. Those ambassadorial efforts have helped enterprises gain clarity around the benefits of MACH and whether it’s a good fit for their technology and business imperatives. 

Key to the MACH Alliance’s success is safeguarding its core values. For its best-of-breed members, certification is a rigorous process that requires a significant investment in both time and resources. Likewise, buyers seeking MACH solutions are becoming increasingly confused by mixed messages and composable rhetoric. That’s why the organization has gone to great lengths to defend the sanctity of its platform – and the essence of the MACH movement. 

As Casper points out, the positive news is that the market is embracing the composable trend. This will create more opportunities for many technology vendors to offer solutions that align with the tenets of MACH. But he also clarifies that composable is not MACH, and the distinctions and prerequisites are abundantly clear. 

A certification is only as valuable as the organization that backs it up. This letter illuminates the lengths that the MACH Alliance is willing to go to maintain the value of MACH certification for its ecosystem of members and buyers.

Many businesses have fought tooth and nail to defend their IP. Calling out false claims is a clear signal that the Alliance is doing its job to protect what it has built – and what it continues to build – for the benefit of everyone.