In view of the turmoil with which companies and CEOs and, above all, Chief Information Officers (CIO) are confronted today – COVID-19 and its many effects, coupled with social and ecological disruptions – change is one of the big buzzwords of our time. Companies not only have to rethink and plan many of their processes and products, but above all should remain flexible in order to be able to react flexibly to changes and innovations in the future. This is exactly where the principle of “composable business” comes into play:
“A composable business is architected for real-time adaptability and resilience in the face of uncertainty.”
This catchy formulation from Gartner, the leading American market research institute for IT developments. Taking it further, it means that success and constant innovation require that the functions provided by the applications are modular and can be quickly and safely reassembled, dismantled and reassembled if business, customer and market requirements change accordingly.
Packaged business capabilities as the basis for composable businesses
It can be assumed that demand in this area will increase immensely in the coming years so that it can be dealt with not only economically but also technically. One software option for this is Packaged Business Capabilities, or PBC for short. Gartner defines these as “software components that represent a clearly defined business capability”. The term is a bit lengthy, but refers to a business service that stands on its own and can be consumed by the end customer as a whole. It must be completely autonomous and does not depend on external data or services in order to carry out its task. These bundled business functions serve as building blocks for larger app suites, which in turn are all joined together by an API.
Source: Gartner AADI Summit “Navigate the Strategic Roadmap to the Future of Applications”, Mar 2, 2020, Paul Vincent
If you take a closer look at the principle of Packaged Business Capability, you will often find that it consists of microservices. These are small services that are also autonomous but can work together to accomplish the actual task of the PBC. Microservices are the design and construction of an app, and Packaged Business Capabilities then contain those app services. These synergies are helpful for many: from authorities and public institutions to SMEs that require high requirements in terms of flexibility, security and clarity.
What do you have to consider?
The advantages are obvious: unlimited flexibility; Ready-to-use agility, innovation through design, unmatched scalability, no manufacturer dependency, harmony between business and technology.
On the other hand, it should be noted that APIs streamline interaction and communication across the company. Therefore, a comprehensive API management strategy is a critical component to the success of Packaged Business Capabilities (PCBs). This is because full lifecycle API management enables system integration across different PCBs, including API design, implementation, security, lifecycle management, monitoring and publishing of APIs. In addition, API portals enable application developers and Fusion teams to discover, test and learn about the functions currently available in the company. In short, APIs are the glue that enables enterprise architects to coordinate and scale bundled business functions in a complex digital enterprise.
We are happy to support you in tackling this changeover, because with Leap.one there is the possibility of implementing it with a special focus on security and data protection. Because for us, data protection through technology design is not an empty phrase for “privacy by design”, but a value that shapes our work on a daily basis.
Outlook
With today’s focus on PBCs, companies are able to implement and integrate these services through the use of development resources. While this gives businesses an unparalleled level of control today, the software vendor landscape will continue to mature towards low-code orchestration environments. This will further accelerate the implementation speed of composable commerce architectures and increase the speed of business innovation. This in turn reduces the burden on the development team and lowers implementation costs as well as the total cost of ownership. Gartner predicts that by 2023, 60 percent of companies will seek composability in new application investments. Over the same period, companies that take a smart, composable approach will outperform their competitors in the speed at which new features can be implemented by 80 percent. So make yourself familiar with these terms as we can expect to hear more about them in the course of 2021.