Headless Systems: Understanding Architectural Styles for Composed Systems of Modular Applications — Business User Perspective
This IDC Perspective will guide readers through the basic terminology and distinctions between systems design concepts and technical deployments of monolithic, headless, and composable applications. It outlines the differences between modules, microservices, and components that use API interfaces to interact with and connect to headless systems. Readers will learn the level of digital maturity needed to successfully realize the benefits of modular systems."The journey toward digital maturity in modular systems is dynamic and multifaceted," says Marci Maddox, research vice president, Digital Experience Strategies at IDC. "Competitive enterprises must align their digital maturity to the appropriate system — monolithic, full stack, hybrid headless, or headless — that will successfully achieve the goals of the organization."
Please Note: Extended description available upon request.
- Executive Snapshot
- Situation Overview
- Confused About the Language of Integrated Systems of Composable Business Software? You're Not Alone
- Off with the Head: The Presentation Needs to Be Decoupled from Everything Else in a Headless System
- Back End for Front End: Ambitious Multihead Experience Delivery Often Requires More than One Back End
- Most "Headless" Applications Will Come with an Operator User Interface Out of the Box, Presenting an Interesting Challenge During Operations and Process Planning
- Abstracting Interfaces in Headless Systems: The Role of APIs and Command-Line Interfaces
- API-First Design in Headless Systems
- The Push to Decouple and Decompose Explained
- Deployment Options for Entire Systems from Pure Monolithic Systems to Approximate Autonomy
- There's No Such Thing as a One-Size-Fits-All System for Digital Business
- Stage 1: Evolving Digital Maturity with Developer Constraints
- Stage 2: Composing with Simple Rules-Based Workflows
- Stage 3: Easing into a Best-of-Breed Architecture
- Stage 4: Unlocking World-Class CX and AI Opportunities with Minimal Risk
- Stage 5: Systems So Automated They Can (Almost) Run Themselves
- Advice for the Technology Buyer
- Learn More
- Related Research
- Synopsis
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