How to Activate the Composable Enterprise

A composable approach is the next great productivity leap. You’ll lag behind if you miss your timing.

Mendix helps you define and put in place composability for your organization. Empowering teams to lead digital business initiatives can be easier than you think.

Let’s dig in.

Assemble composability

Let’s first ground our discussion in the importance of composability. From Mendix’s own Gordon Van Huizen:

“Modern enterprise application development requires creating and leveraging adaptive software solutions comprising of re-composable building blocks so that your organization can assemble new applications without having to start from scratch or rely on commercial off-the-shelf solutions.”

Let’s go further.

In their piece, “Composable Applications Accelerate Digital Business,” Gartner posits that “by 2024, 80% of CIOs surveyed will list modular business redesign—through composability–as a top-five reason for accelerated business performance.”

So, what exactly is composability? It comes down to a set of building blocks that you can use, reuse, and reconfigure.

IT can maintain control/visibility over the ecosystem. Meanwhile, developers build faster, leveraging IT-approved tools. Cut down on rework and duplication, and keep your solutions straight.

Composability means moving toward development that already has ready-built pieces in place. Imagine having pre-built and proven data models and workflows. Now imagine how much more productive your teams can be with those tools!

Or, even better, stop those messes from forming.

Move from a tangled mess to an organized landscape

Composability requires both planning and execution. Getting one right without the other won’t cut it.

Mendix takes a holistic view of the entire development lifecycle. Focusing on only simplifying app development isn’t enough

For that reason, Mendix is the only low-code platform for today’s complex software development challenges.

Solve these complex challenges with building blocks that work with core systems.

We’re making use of microflows, nanoflows, connectors, and more. Those make up the core of a composable enterprise.

That leads to tailored experiences for targeted users and better development process outcomes.

But those components are only the first step.

They need to be part of a flexible platform. And the whole package needs to be clear and easily used for developers of all skill levels.

Let’s look at some of the other things you need.

Governance Tools and Controls

Without the right governance approach, you put your org at risk. Think shadow IT, security breakdowns, and worse.

Whether your portfolio is a single app or thousands, control isn’t just important. It might be the most important thing.

Simply put, if you lack control, you can’t be composable.

Governance helps leadership move from vision to execution. That’s accomplished with tools that ensure secure, compliant, and effective development.

Mendix then enables governance and control across your whole Mendix landscape ideation.

Out-of-the-box tools and functionality make getting control and visibility of your landscape easier. And, just as importantly, keeping it through the whole lifecycle.

Without proper governance, your portfolio falls apart. With it, you can make better-informed decisions about what to build and how that contributes to business goals.

Flexibility

By its nature, composability requires flexibility.

Flexibility can mean accommodating developers from various experience levels. We’re talking pro developers, novice developers, business technologists, and anywhere in between.

Flexibility can also mean how easily something works with the rest of your tech stack. Mendix partners with many different providers, including SAP and AWS. Connectors help bring everything together quickly and seamlessly.

Emerging technologies

There’s no such thing as “future-proof.” Technology evolves too fast for that, so put it out of mind. But you need a platform that helps you manage change and develop with new technologies.

The ideal platform can handle and integrate emerging technologies without feeling tacked on. By 2025, 30% of enterprises will have implemented an AI-augmented development and testing strategy. Does your COTS have that?

Collaboration

Now more than ever, development happens across the enterprise. The days of the walled garden have to end.

But consider this.

Pockets of employees working on their own to create simple departmental solutions. That sounds like just another version of shadow IT, right?

So, the key, then, is a holistic approach to mobilizing teams across the enterprise.

Call them fusion teams, call them whatever you like. But you need to support a broader range of contributors from across the business.

According to Gartner, fusion teams are a way to bring business and IT experts together. Through 2027, digital workplace teams that blend business and technology roles will be 50% more likely to deliver positive outcomes than those formed by IT alone.

Collaboration leads to shared knowledge. It also leads to more capacity for the complex solutions your enterprise needs.

Put it together to ensure you’re building the right solutions for the business.

Composability beyond the platform

Mendix enables composability and reuse. That’s been the case since our founding nearly two decades ago. As you’ve seen, we bake it into our platform and processes. But it’s also critical to what we do with our partners. Here are a couple of examples:

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Mendix has been cloud-native since 2016 and strategically aligned with AWS since 2022. Mendix’s list of AWS connectors is constantly growing.

Mendix and AWS help supercharge apps with AWS’ innovative products and tools.

Enterprises embracing composability can customize their technology to the needs of their business. Pre-existing connectors and low-code applications make it easy to custom-connect.

Independent Software Vendors

Software vendors know that time and resources are critical. Time spent repeating tasks is time not spent collaborating and co-innovating with clients.

Mendix helps vendors rapidly develop and templatize solutions. Those help customers to build and deploy quickly, protect critical IP, and provide a smooth upgrade path.

Tackle tomorrow’s problems today

The composable enterprise isn’t coming soon or is something to take a “wait and see” approach on. It’s here.

Waiting too long to long could devastate your competitive advantage and your future.

Be bold and take control of your destiny. Plan, pick the right platform, and execute. Mendix helps you get there.