VTEX CEO Mariano Gomide de Faria slams 'dogmatic' MACH Alliance as his company pulls support

VTEX Founder and Co-CEO Mariano Gomide de Faria has announced via LinkedIn that his company is temporarily suspending support of the MACH Alliance, a non-profit profit group whose members include software vendors, systems integrators, agencies, and individual experts known as "Ambassadors", advocating for open technology ecosystems.

This has sparked some lively debate, with the MACH Alliance President, Casper Aagaard Rasmussen requesting an open conversation, and others sharing similar sentiments of composable commerce regret.

In his post, the VTEX boss says the firm will continue to support MACH, the day it stands for the following topics: Lean and simple architecture; OOTB fully connected software ecosystem; No middleware or minimal middleware integration layer; Defend the best interest of retailers and brands (not the provider's best interest).

He comments: “The MACH Alliance emerged with noble intentions, promising to break the stranglehold of monolithic platforms through its gospel of microservices, API first, cloud native, and headless architectures. Its vision of modular commerce - stitching together 'best-of-breed' solutions - appeared revolutionary at first glance (and it has been for some). But what began as a technical liberation movement has instead led us down a treacherous path paved with hidden costs, operational nightmares, unfulfilled promises, and financial ruin.”

He adds: “Let's be brutally honest: The pure best-of-breed MACH approach has created as many problems as it has solved. What began as a crusade for technical freedom has morphed into a complex web of challenges:”

And he concludes: “The MACH Alliance served its purpose in breaking us free from monolithic thinking. Now it's time to break free from MACH dogma itself. The future belongs to organisations that can balance technical capability with business reality, creating solutions that don't just work in theory but deliver in practice.”

“The future is based on highly connected (OOTB connections)  backbones that provide a sustainable, reliable, and business driven solution Let's stop chasing composable extremism and start building solutions that work for business.”

In the comments section, Jenna Flateman Posner, Co-founder/Vice Chair at Retail AI Council, said: “MACH promised freedom from monoliths, but for many, it delivered complexity, rising costs, and integration pain. The vision isn’t flawed, but the reality demands more maturity and clarity than most were prepared for. IMO.”

Ben Nelson, Growth & Partnerships Director at Tech Eco Hub, meanwhile, observed: “Thanks for sharing, Mariano. A breath (of much needed) fresh air! MACH was created (in a London pub) to make a change and compete with the commerce gorillas. But over the last couple of years they have changed and delivered on the key ask to deliver OOTB functionalality that works 24/7 across all seasons then adapt, extend and augment with best-of-breed to meet key business requirements aka best of both.”

Board member; agency founder; entrepreneur; investor, Dilip Keshu, stated: “I felt MACH took itself too seriously and I was alarmed when so many people jumped on to the bandwagon. We (at BORN) tried and thankfully were rejected. MACH has its day in the sun but like all sunrises and sunsets, there are new days, times and trends that follow.”

Whilst Christopher Bousquet, Commerce Practice Lead at DefinedLogic, weighed in to the debate with some sympathetic words for the under fire group. “Interesting perspective. I don't know that MACH is deserving of the antagonism here, though. It is an advocacy group. Faulting them for poor execution of a composable experience seems akin to blaming VH1 Saves the Music for bad pop music on the radio. MACH's principles hold up, academically,” he argued.

Healthy debate

Casper Aagaard Rasmussen told RTIH: “We always welcome healthy debate, but some recent discussions have missed the mark on what MACH actually represents. MACH isn’t a rigid framework, nor is it an outright rejection of traditional architectures. At its core, it is a set of guiding principles - an architectural approach that prioritises flexibility, scalability, and innovation when applied strategically to the right scenarios.”

“The real issue here is the misconception that MACH is an all or nothing approach. That’s simply not the case. MACH empowers organisations to create adaptable, high performing technology ecosystems while fostering autonomy and reducing dependencies. However, forcing it across an entire enterprise without considering business context, constraints, and long-term strategy is a misstep.”

“MACH has evolved significantly, and the companies that truly understand its value see it as a tool for smarter architectural choices, not a rigid doctrine. This discussion shouldn’t be framed as MACH versus monoliths - it should be about using the right principles to achieve meaningful business outcomes.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Composable commerce will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which will open for entries in March, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.