Versatile, adaptable, and resilient—the benefits of composable systems have put them on many companies’ roadmaps, and analysts project that this growing market will increase 50% by 2030.
Let’s take a closer look at composable infrastructure, and how to build it in Workato.
What is a composable system?
A composable system is a modular approach to system architecture, where services are separately developed, deployed, and maintained as independent components. These components are configured or “composed” in an orchestration layer that allows you to build complex systems out of simpler modules.
Many companies currently use monolithic systems instead. A monolith is a single complex application where services are interdependent and operate as one unit. If you have this type of system, you may be locked into certain services and have no way to make changes without affecting the entire system.
There are several benefits to composable infrastructure over monolithic:
- It is versatile, as it can be reconfigured for different use cases
- It is adaptable, as individual modules can be swapped out
- It is resilient, as failing modules do not bring down the whole system
At a tactical level, today’s composable systems also solve several common system architecture issues: (a) the push and pull between frontend and backend services and (b) data siloes in point solutions.
The composable mindset
The idea for composable infrastructure comes from the first principles mindset, which breaks down complex problems into foundational components that can be fixed one at a time with simpler solutions.
A conventional mindset will seek increasingly complex solutions for more complex problems. For example, a company might feel it has “outgrown” an application and look to “upgrade” to a more powerful option. Unfortunately, with this mindset, change is slow, incremental, and comes in the form of painful migrations.
This thought process, which favors monolithic systems, can work against business objectives:
“Monolithic architecture is not helpful when you’re trying to scale,” observes Rama Theekshidar, a composable systems pioneer in the distribution industry, where many companies still rely on legacy systems.
“It’s not easier when it comes to integrations. It’s not easier when you’re trying to move data between different systems and applications…. It’s not sustainable. It’s not scalable.”
Composable systems are different. Because they spring from first principles, they can be constructed in innovative and unexpected ways. For example, “headless” systems replace the conventional system interface with integrations that surfaces relevant information where it’s needed in existing interfaces.
The first principles mindset:
- Deepens the understanding of systems
- Creates more options and alternatives
- Leads to breakthrough ideas
Key characteristics of composable systems
There isn’t one way to build a composable system. The first principles mindset that underpins composability means that, unlike monolithic systems, each one is constructed in a unique way.
All composable systems simply share these characteristics:
- Minimal dependencies: Services are only loosely coupled. Each module can function independently with limited knowledge of the internal workings of the other modules.
- Scale independently: If a module experiences higher or lower usage than other modules, it can scale independently without needing to increase the capacity of the entire system.
- Integration: Modules communicate with each other using integration protocols like APIs.
- Governance: An orchestration layer manages security, compliance, and performance across modules. This layer handles, for example, errors for faster diagnostics across services.
Examples of composable systems
- A composable Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a data management system that configures customer data from sales, marketing, and customer support services. It provides a unified view of each customer to support goals like improving the customer experience and increasing retention.
- Composable commerce is a headless approach to e-commerce that decouples the frontend and backend experiences. It lets developers optimize each experience without affecting the other.
- A headless Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform decouples the frontend and backend processes of facilitating customer communication. Many companies with this type of composable system require custom customer interfaces, such as a customer support app.
- A composable Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform is an integrated set of financial microservices such as invoicing, payroll, and analytics. This composable configuration typically includes a monolithic ERP like NetSuite or SAP integrated with point solution services.
A note: the first principles mindset is a gateway to seeing composability in any system and, as a result, there are many types of composable systems outside of these examples—most without names.
How to build a composable system with Workato
The Workato platform is the integration and orchestration layer of your composable system. It provides the capabilities and features necessary to build complexity from simpler building blocks. These include:
- Enterprise-wide connectivity via pre-built connectors, APIs, webhooks, and more
- Event-driven architecture with streams to organize event data and objects
- Security and compliance, including user and role management
- Error and exception handling for all modules in one place
Rama Theekshidar runs his composable distribution system at US Electrical Services with Workato:
“As part of the composable architecture, we’re building microservices around different components of what a digital commerce platform needs to do, whether we’re thinking about making our order management system better or if, tomorrow, we decide to change our WMS or any other capabilities. Using APIs, it’s a little bit of a longer journey there, and that’s where a product like Workato comes into play.”
For a demo of how to build a composable CDP in Workato, check out this Product Hour:
