MACH Alliance Interoperability Standards

Transform your architecture to composable with MACH principles - practical standards, data models, and integration patterns for modern enterprise systems

🚀 Quick Start

What you'll find here:

• 📊 Open Data Model (ODM) - Standardized data structures and real-world integration recipes
• 🏗️ Reference Architectures - MACH architecture patterns and blueprints
• 📚 Implementation Guides - Step-by-step guidance for your composable journey
• 🤝 Platform Definitions - Understanding the MACH ecosystem components

🎯 Who is this for?

You are...	Start here
New to MACH (MACH-curious) 🌱	Learn the core principles and explore simple recipes
Building with MACH (MACH-active) 🛠️	Implement ODM patterns and use reference architectures
MACH Expert (MACH-pro) 🚀	Contribute advanced patterns and shape future standards

📊 Open Data Model (ODM)

Stop reinventing the integration wheel

Every MACH implementation faces the same challenge: how do you make 20+ best-of-breed services work together seamlessly?

The Open Data Model (ODM) solves this with:

• ✅ Pre-built integration patterns that work across all major MACH vendors
• ✅ Standardized data structures eliminating custom mappings between every service
• ✅ Real-world recipes you can implement in less than a day
• ✅ AI-ready foundations supporting the next generation of agent-to-agent communication

Whether you're syncing inventory across channels, orchestrating payments, or building unified customer profiles, ODM provides the proven patterns that have already been battle-tested in production.

→ Explore the Open Data Model

🏗️ Reference Architectures

Visual blueprints and patterns for building composable systems:

• 📐 MACH Reference Architecture PDF - Three levels of detail from domains to platform responsibilities
• 🛠️ Architecture Diagram Generator - Create your own MACH architecture diagrams
• 📖 Architecture Guide - Detailed explanation of MACH ecosystem design

📚 Implementation Guides

Step-by-step guidance for your MACH journey:

Guide	Description	Format
MACH Architecture Introduction	Path to composable ecosystems	Markdown
How to evaluate composable solutions	Evaluation criteria and legacy system strategies	PDF
Understanding composable architectures	Technical patterns and integration concepts	PDF

🤝 Platform Definitions

Understanding the building blocks of MACH architectures:

• Platform Glossary - Decode three-letter acronyms (PIM, OMS, CMS, etc.)
• Platform Responsibilities - What each platform type handles in the ecosystem

🌟 What are MACH principles?

The MACH approach promotes modern, intelligent, and scalable digital architecture. Below are the core principles we champion—and the legacy approaches we reject.

🧩 Composable ✅ What We Champion Composable architecture empowers teams to select and assemble best-of-breed solutions tailored to specific business needs. It also allows for seamless AI integration without being tied to monolithic limitations or unnecessary features. ❌ What We Reject We reject all-in-one platforms that limit choice, enforce rigid feature sets, and lock innovation to a vendor's roadmap.	🔗 Connected ✅ What We Champion A connected ecosystem uses API-first integrations to unify applications and data, creating a seamless foundation for AI, automation, and rapid experimentation. Real-time intelligence becomes possible when systems communicate natively and data flows freely. ❌ What We Reject We reject siloed systems and architectures that hinder data sharing, delay AI adoption, and create costly integration barriers.
🔄 Incremental ✅ What We Champion Incremental approaches foster safe experimentation, faster iteration, and real-world validation of intelligent features. This reduces risk and accelerates innovation without disrupting your current systems. ❌ What We Reject We reject "big bang" projects that introduce risk, stall agility, and often fail to deliver real intelligent value.	🌐 Open ✅ What We Champion Open systems support transparency, interoperability, and shared innovation—enabling teams to adapt quickly and integrate AI wherever it delivers value. Standardized APIs and open architectures create ecosystems where collaboration thrives. ❌ What We Reject We reject proprietary lock-in and closed systems that isolate data, restrict innovation, and inhibit cross-functional insight.
🤖 Autonomous ✅ What We Champion Autonomous systems empower organizations with self-optimizing, AI-enhanced infrastructure that adapts in real time. Intelligent automation reduces manual toil and drives strategic transformation at scale. ❌ What We Reject We reject manual dependencies and rigid control structures that prevent agility, innovation, and intelligent response to change.

Learn more at machalliance.org →

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the entire MACH community!

• 📋 General Contribution Guide - For all standards and materials
• 📊 ODM Contribution Guide - Specific to data models and recipes
• 💬 Join the Discussion - Share ideas and feedback

Ways to contribute:

• 🐛 Report issues or suggest improvements
• 📝 Submit new integration recipes or patterns
• 🔍 Review and validate existing models
• 📚 Improve documentation
• 🌍 Translate materials

👥 Brought to you by the MACH Alliance Interoperability Task Force

The Interoperability Task Force is a collaborative effort of technical leaders from across the MACH ecosystem.

Person	Role
Adam Peter Nielsen	CTO, Novicell & Technology Council Member, Interoperability Task Force Lead, MACH Alliance
Mark Demeny	Tech Analyst, MACH Alliance
Interoperability Task Force co-leads: Adam Peter Nielsen & Ramon Snir