The need for rapid scalability in software development is more critical than ever. According to a McKinsey report, those who prioritize agility hold a huge advantage over competitors.
Every day, IT leaders navigate the complexities of modern ecosystems, unfolding new ways to take the lead.
In this search, composability keeps making strives by allowing teams to allocate resources quickly and focus on strategic edges.
But where can IT leaders start to apply composability principles? What’s the best stack to fully leverage its benefits?
When trying to focus on speed and scale, there are some winning combinations. That’s why this article will delve into composability with the React-based framework Next.js.
What is Composability?
To summarize, composability is an architecture principle where products are assembled from modular building blocks. These blocks often focus on specific business capabilities.
Composability rises as the opposite of monolithic architectures, where components’ functionalities are tightly coupled with each other.
In 2020, VP Analyst Don Scheibenreif defined composability as “being flexible, fluid, continuous, even improvisational.” His words talked about how composability can help decision-makers quickly change when facing tough situations.
In fact, in its 2023 Strategic Planning Assumptions, Gartner stated that “by 2024, 20% of Global 2000 CEOs will report an increased appetite for risk and improved resilience, both attributed to modular business redesign.”
What is Next.js?
Built by Vercel, Next is a React-based framework. Its core focuses revolve around building fast, safe and scalable web applications with minimal settings.
A key edge is its hybrid rendering, which includes Static Site Generation (SSG) and Server-Side Rendering (SSR). It’s also great with Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) that further allows tailored development.
With its built-in routing and API endpoints, Next simplifies the development process. Its support of file-based routing is also key to streamlining navigation within applications.
Lastly, its image optimization and middleware support further improve efficiency and enhance performance.
Since it supports both server-rendered and statistically generated pages, Next.js is great for building headless, composable systems. Teams can easily integrate those with CMS, CRMs and analytics tools without overlooking SEO.
All these remarkable advantages make Next key to future-proof architectures while staying focused on user experiences!
Why Does Composability With Next.js Make Business Sense?
After explaining the two main concepts, it’s time to dive into their combination. Composable architectures with Next can be key in enabling faster innovation, better UX and long-term efficiency. Let’s check out how!
Faster Time-to-Market
Composability allows teams to deliver updates without breaking unrelated parts of a system. As features can be built independently and integrated when ready, it can be critical to speed up deployment cycles!
Google’s 2024 DORA report shows that composability can be key in boosting code releases by 30 times!
Enterprise Scalability
Not only does Next.js ease code deployment, but it’s also great for scaling specific edges after launch! This feature goes beyond technical scalability to support business scalability.
By evolving capabilities without disrupting core architectures, you’ll ease collaboration and achieve better scalability in development efforts.
Reduced Technical Debt
With each capability being version-controlled, you can lower the risk of intertwined dependencies.
Next.js allows to keep fetching and logic on the server while composing interactivity only where needed.
Not only does this architecture reduce complexity while boosting performance. It’s also a smart choice for future-proof stacks and allowing rapid iteration.
Business Agility
In the context of composability, Next is great when companies need to adapt quickly to changing market conditions.
With its component-based structure, teams can add, modify or remove features seamlessly. All these processes can be made without affecting the entire system!
Its server components also allow back-end functionality to evolve in a separate lane from front-end experiences. What’s more, Next’s incremental adoption allows teams to modernize products gradually without complete rewriting.
This strategic approach emphasizes innovation and minimizes disruption when keeping up with evolving landscapes!
Next.js became a strategic fit for companies that seek to build modern, composable products. Its modular tech stacks allow for incremental innovation without overlooking performance or UX.
Real Use Cases of Composability With Next.js
Next.js for Healthcare Solutions: FaceMyDoc
One of the key players in tele-health in the context of COVID-19 was FaceMyDoc.
The platform rose to prominence by connecting physicians and patients with an innovative and accessible platform.
One of the key requirements for our team when developing FaceMyDoc was that the platform needed to work clockwise.
That’s why we chose to blend React and Node with Next.js' composability-based capabilities.
The stack allowed us to deliver cutting-edge outcomes with faster development procedures.
By adding Atlantic’s HIPAA compliance to manage protected health data, we implemented secure and confidential protocols to safeguard identities and medical procedures.
Next.js for Retail Solutions: KÜHL
The well-known outdoor clothing brand needed an upgraded stack to keep up with its operations.
While our focus was on UX and System Design, we unveiled weaknesses with its stack of Python + Django.
We strategically chose React and Next for the front end, considering that the back end was not defined.
Next’s server-side rendering allowed us to work the BE with either the current structure or evolve into a new suite.
Next.js for Finance Solutions: Kryptonite
Known as Web3’s most neutral and transparent space, Kryptonite allows users to engage in e-commerce transactions while communicating with friends.
When developing the hub, we needed to consider both the amount and the types of available transactions.
What’s more, there was also the need to pay attention to the speed at which the finance industry changes.
The latter edge was vital to ensure all users were able to access the needed info to perform safe transactions.
With this specificity in mind, we relied on Next.js to ensure strong structures regardless of specific changes or relevances.
This selection worked seamlessly with Node, AWS, Hasura GraphQL and Apollo GraphQL.
Conclusion
Rather than just a technical decision, composability is a strategic one.
Alongside Next.js, it can enhance software future-proofing and drive better business outcomes.
By investing in modular, scalable systems, you’ll earn long-term agility and a competitive edge!
