I think these two play together very well. I have used them in multiple configurations. I have even handed sites off to clients afterwards and watched them manage it. A developer tool should not prevent the end user from using the site. Its meant to develop with.

As many have mentioned above, you can still update and add new plugins without using Composer. You can add new themes. You can edit the code. You can do anything you want.

If the developer comes back and runs composer again after all of this, some of it may be bad news. But for maintaining large sites running automatic updates and deployments through Composer and Capistrano is one of the best things I've ever done for my sanity.

Couple that with a custom Satis build to host your plugins and you can actually support and roll out changes to custom developments.

No offense, great article understand the point but I completely disagree. Whether we like it or not developers have to work in this 'user-friendly' system and make it easy for us to use at the same time.