MACH Alliance Expands Education Program, Appoints Dylan Valade of Abbott As Head of Education

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MACH Alliance, a not-for-profit industry body dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems, today announced the expansion of its thriving education program, rideMACH, which has nearly tripled its enrollment in half a year. The eLearning program is introducing a new expansion course and upcoming credentials, and it is broadening support by appointing Dylan Valade, senior director of digital marketing at Abbott, to be the new Head of the MACH Alliance Education Council, which oversees the curriculum.

MACH Alliance research shows that 91% of IT decision-makers expect composable technology to be instrumental to their success in the next five years, highlighting an overwhelming interest in adopting the MACH approach. To help everyone embrace and leverage this open, transformative technology, the Alliance debuted rideMACH in April 2024. The program grew from more than 400 users to over 1,100 by September 2024.

Education program debuts a new expansion course

rideMACH offers two foundational courses: Modern Tech With MACH and MACH Mindset. Each track sends participants down a learning path that combines audio, video, and interactivity to present users with a range of activities and case studies to bring MACH principles and concepts to life in tangible ways. Each learning path culminates with a digital badge.

Today, the Alliance is also launching an expansion course on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which will explore best practices around interoperability and highlight the cost efficiency and scalability of the MACH approach. Unlike a monolithic system, MACH solutions enable businesses to perform incremental changes to manage TCO. Cloud-native technologies in MACH architectures, for example, optimize operational costs and ensure companies pay only for what they need.

“Since its inception, rideMACH has been an invaluable program to hundreds of individuals. These champions have joined the program to help their organizations gain insights from real-world scenarios,” said Casper Rasmussen, president of MACH Alliance. “Brands and companies love the program too — clearly evidenced by our satisfaction scores, frequent learner engagement and the obvious pride in sharing on social media when they achieve a digital credential. It’s a testament to the validity of the program.”

rideMACH e-learners demonstrate a positive assessment of the program including:

  • 95% agree that the rideMACH learning paths helped them better understand the fundamental principles of MACH.
  • 96% agree that the Modern Tech with MACH learning path helped them learn best practices for a more successful MACH transformation or adoption.
  • 87% feel better equipped to apply key skills and qualities needed to build a MACH team.
MACH Alliance appoints new leader of education 

In the summer of 2023, MACH Alliance introduced the Education Council, which focuses on how the Alliance educates the community regarding a MACH pathway, including shaping the rideMACH program. Now, the newly appointed Executive Council has added Dylan Valade, senior director of digital marketing at Abbott, to serve as the Head of Education for the Council. Valade brings a MACH-user perspective that will help inform the council on how to best serve organizations and brands alike.

Valade has been a long-time supporter of the Alliance, serving as an ambassador for more than three years and leads a talented global IT team at Abbott. He also served as the head of e-commerce for PUMA Group.

“As the Alliance matures, the Education Council aims to be an essential source of knowledge, upskilling how organizations adopt composable technology and the MACH approach,” Valade said. “The council’s success will lead to the expansion of rideMACH as a foundational educational tool for the community.”

To learn more about rideMACH and sign up for programming, register here.