Through its certification program and vibrant community, the MACH Alliance offers more than just a stamp of approval – it provides a gateway to growth through collaboration. We know because we crafted the category and have helped many companies grow within and around it.
Obtaining certification is like having a gym membership without touching the weights. It may make you feel better, and it may even be good for your reputation to show off the membership, but the gains only come with some good solid work.
Understanding the Power of Membership
Coming into MACH is an entry into a vibrant ecosystem of like-minded professionals and businesses committed to driving innovation. In the same gym analogy membership not only gives you access to state-of-the-art equipment but also a network of fitness enthusiasts, trainers, nutritionists, and the overall ‘lifting each-other up vibe – that's what being part of the MACH Alliance offers too, if you show up and participate that is. A very fruitful environment…. If you show up, that is, if you meet the people, listen, talk and learn and start to feel the groove.
The Training Program
The gains are within reach and a MACH Alliance certification can provide a lever to grow your company’s visibility, trustworthiness and client wins. To truly capitalize on the benefits it requires effort and involvement. What showing up looks like:
- Mission Alignment: Understanding the mission of the Alliance is paramount. It's not about certification - certification is just proof of your tech being vetted and future-proof. The Alliance is all about helping buyers navigate the complex digital landscape, to future proof enterprise technology and drive new digital experiences. Your leadership and teams should internalize this mission to effectively position your company within the community. Making ‘helping the buyer’ part of your narrative, is a powerful one as there are many more.
- Rally your teams: Ensure your people understand the significance of MACH certification and how to articulate your and its value proposition as an industry body and not just a member club. Crafting a recognizable and consistent narrative about why certification matters to (you) your buyer is essential for success.
- Grow your Visibility: MACH is a stage for companies like you; an amazing open stage for smaller companies to learn, teach and show Composable strides. This is where the audience interested in Composable will come to. This is the Apollo of Composable :) Contribute to case studies, and vie for MACH Awards, encourage your customers to become MACH Ambassadors and become MACH Ambassadors yourselves by contributing your knowledge, learnings and key topics that buyers are interested in. The stage is yours.
- Engagement Strategies: Take time to understand how the Alliance is run and who is who. Actively participate in work councils, task forces, and community events,. These efforts increase trustworthiness, and credibility within the MACH community and the wider market.
- Task Forces are built around a specific initiative or project that ladders up to an overarching Alliance or industry goal, and ideas for task forces can be submitted by any member. Subject matter experts are brought in to focus on the creation of a key output. You have the opportunity to (re)create a part of what the Alliance does and/or influence an industry topic you are expert in, by joining or starting a task force.
- Work councils build on the strategy set out by the board, giving member contributors the opportunity to shape future initiatives and these are also great ways to get to know peers and experts at potential partner companies. Relationships are built between people before they support companies and this is where you start them.
- Partnership Building: Leverage the network of Ambassadors and peers within the Alliance; they are knowledgeable first movers and are approachable to learn from. Ambassadors can provide valuable feedback from their own experiences. Also encourage your customers to become Ambassadors showcasing their knowledge and amplifying your great work. This type of case study connects your clients with peers and creates a valuable network for them. Reach out, collaborate, and build partnerships based on mutual goals and values. Remember, business is ultimately about people, and trust is the currency of successful partnerships.
- Leverage Content and Educate the Market: The MACH Alliance is a source of high value content which has ensured it increases its relevance for digital leaders over time. Use that content, help to educate the market, and encourage your people to do the same to support your own narrative and message to the market.
The MACH global annual research is a great example. The MACH Maturity Assessment is designed to help organizations assess their current ability to adopt and leverage the benefits of MACH. MACH certified companies can use it in the process with new clients and prospects to create mutual understanding of where they can make the most effective changes to their approach. Help your prospects to make the case for MACH internally.
Contributing to the Mission
MACH Alliance membership is way more than just a certification stamp. It's an opportunity to rewrite history as a category as part of the movement that is redefining the digital landscape. Which sounds noble and cool. Yet it is also the perfect stage for the relatively small companies on to something groundbreaking in a time where big tech still rules large parts of the world. Without MACH as the oxygen to the Composable flame, it would have been to work way harder for the David-size companies to be seen, heard and taken seriously on their own.
That opportunity is here. Why stop with the certification when the gains are around the door. By actively participating in councils, contributing to part topics, sharing your hyper expertise, working (out) with peers, you shape the future of enterprise tech AND build your company.
MACH is a market - cake - that we helped build. It is a big one and Composable is here to stay. How this market is going to be developed and sliced up is not determined yet at all. You can be a spectator, or a creator in that performance.
Give us a nudge if you don’t just want to sit it out and want to go for the gains.
