Issue link: https://mbozikis.ufcontent.com/i/1418663
35 The case for headless & API first technologies Companies are under increasing pressure to not only rapidly innovate, but constantly iterate too. At the same time, consumer expectations are increasing (with 'instant gratification' being the standard) – customers expect that retailers "know them" enough to be able to present them with the right experience at every digital touch point. However, building this type of experience is hard. First, building these experiences relies heavily on Developers to build them, and Developers are in high demand and expensive. Second, developers have historically had to "build from scratch" using a collection of open source technologies that you need to host, maintain and scale. The bottom line is the old ways of either building software or buying software to differentiate a business no longer applies in today's environment either because they're too slow, or because they a create an experience that is the same as everyone else. Preparing for tomorrow The net result is that a new generation of API-First companies are arising and providing a better option - an option that provides Developers a "jumpstart" using building blocks to create their apps. Retailers are beginning to take a competitive approach to the advancement of their Search and Discovery capabilities and they are seeing the results. Respectively 49% and 42% of respondents recognize that a headless architecture generates time savings and faster time to market, while improved services (56% of respondents) and ease of integration (47% of respondents) are also key benefits associated with an API first approach. While 90% of retailers think that the fit of their search technology to a headless architecture is critical or somewhat important, and yet only 23% think that the fit of their search solution in a headless architecture is ideal.