Composable Enterprise Explained: How Modular Systems Power Innovation and Resilience
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AI developments (opens in a new window) have been all over the internet recently. But for all the discussion, the most important part of the boom lies in the theme underpinning every action you’re told to take to be AI-ready: adaptability.
The pace of enterprise technology has accelerated to a nearly unsustainable level. There’s always something bigger and better around the corner – and if you’re not providing it to your users, they’ll find it somewhere else. Competing is synonymous with keeping up. And becoming a composable enterprise setup is the only way to protect your business strategy with future-proof adaptability.
In this article, we’ll cover what a composable enterprise is, what business benefits it offers, and break down what it looks like in practice. We’ll also offer a few tips on how your business can start the journey to composable today.
Let’s get into it!
What is a composable enterprise?
A composable enterprise is a company that replaces rigid, monolithic systems with modular components that can be assembled and reassembled as needed. This creates a flexible, agile foundation that empowers easier innovation, faster customization, and quicker response to change.
Composable enterprise as a concept has been established for years now. However, with the way the market’s been moving, it’s quickly transformed from one option among many to the only viable strategy for the future of digital experiences.
In a world where user expectations are barely half a step behind the release of the tech making it possible, there’s no single answer. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket and hope that it’ll last through the current trend cycle. You need a system that’s designed for adaptability, personalization, and efficiency.
That’s where being a composable enterprise comes in.
Want to learn more about composability? Get the full scoop with our article, “What Is Composable Architecture?"
What makes an enterprise composable?
One of the greatest benefits of composability is how truly individualized each system is. But no matter how much organizations customize their composable tech stacks, each different combination is defined by a few key features: Modularity, interoperability, scalability, and flexibility tend to be the gold standard.
In practical terms, there are a few principles that usually go hand in hand with those. A headless CMS (opens in a new window) is almost always in the picture, as are MACH principles (opens in a new window). Beyond that, the world is your oyster! Choose any program you like, then swap it out at will. You have true, total technical freedom.
However, what makes an enterprise truly composable is how capable it is of leveraging those benefits effectively, efficiently, and creatively. A lot of times, this comes down to choice – from new technology to new team members, you’ll get the most value out of being a composable enterprise by carefully weighing your options and what’s possible. Composability opens the door to an infinite world of possibilities, but you’ll still have to step through the threshold yourself.
Composable enterprise benefits
In practical terms, there are a few business benefits that composable stands to offer:
- Faster time-to-market. Optimize the speed of your content, workflows, and operations to get ideas to market quicker than ever.
- Better agility for meeting changing customer needs. The consumer demand for AI integrations seemingly dominated digital experiences overnight – and so will the next tech craze.
- Easier experimentation. When change is fast, easy, and simple, innovation becomes second nature.
- Higher return on investment (ROI). You’re only paying for what you need, so no extra charges for features you’ll never use.
- More vendor freedom. Avoid vendor lock-in and all the costs and headaches that come with it.
- Enterprise-grade security (opens in a new window). In a composable system, failure in one component doesn’t compromise the others, so any incidents that slip through will automatically have limited damage potential.
For a deeper dive on composability and tech choices among growth-minded businesses, download “The Engine of Enterprise: How Headless Fuels Composable Joy” for free today.
| Team | Composable Impact |
|---|---|
| Marketers | Flexible content removes all limitations on marketing strategies, while omnichannel delivery means a consistent brand story has never been easier to tell |
| IT/Tech | Reduced technical debt and simplified integration operations mean tech teams can focus on their goals, not the logistics |
| User Experience (UX) | An endless supply of easily integrated personalization tools to refine the UX with improved website performance across the board |
| Operations | Workflows are simplified across teams and regions, making scaling realistic and sustainable |
| Customers | Users get the latest, greatest, highest-performing digital experiences on the market that keep them coming back for more |
Composable enterprise in action: Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) (opens in a new window)
MEET THE BRAND: Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is a British mass media and telecommunications company connecting people and businesses through mobile, broadband, and media services
Before composable
The Virgin Media O2 team is no stranger to delivering high-quality content, but fragmented workflows were blocking them at every turn. Content was isolated in fragmented CMSs, updates were sluggish, and developers had to always be on call for even minor changes. Worse yet, it cost the company more than just the team’s patience: outdated infrastructure led to patchy content consistency, eyewatering operational costs, and time-sensitive sales events that were never fully capitalized on.
After composable
By adopting composable principles via Storyblok, Virgin Media O2 has gone from workflow discord to content harmony. With an eye towards innovation, the VMO2 team has pioneered cutting-edge modernization throughout the organization. Content management is now neatly centralized for more efficient production across thousands of pages, replacing dev overreliance with editor autonomy.
And it’s paid off. VMO2 now enjoys multi-million-pound savings, faster content operations, and a drastically reduced total cost of ownership, all without compromising its technical agility or ability to deliver incredible omnichannel customer experiences.
Want to learn more about VMO2's millions of pounds saved, 31% operator share in the UK, and a 24-hour site rebuild and production? Check out the full Virgin Media O2 case study for free.
Final thoughts: Build for change, not stability
Any change is going to come with growing pains. The turn towards composability, an entirely new strategy requiring a total mindset shift for many, is unlikely to be an exception. But in an era where the only trait that matters is resilience, designing for adaptability is well worth the investment.
Want to learn more about building a composable enterprise? Our team is here to help. Contact us today (opens in a new window) for a free, customized demo of how Storyblok can supercharge your composable content ecosystem.
