A Comprehensive Guide to Microservices
Traditional software development uses a monolithic architecture, where all functionalities are tightly integrated into a single codebase and deployed as a single unit. However, as technology ecosystems grow more complex and interconnected, this rigid structure can make it challenging for organizations to modify applications to meet evolving business needs.
Microservices development has become a popular alternative for organizations that need greater agility and control over their platforms. By structuring applications as a collection of modular, loosely coupled services, a microservices architecture offers flexibility to adapt applications dynamically — and ultimately build a more resilient and scalable tech stack.
What are Microservices?
A microservices architecture is a development approach that builds applications as a collection of small, independent services. Each service is designed to handle a specific function and operates autonomously while communicating with other services through APIs.
This modular structure means IT teams can update specific services without needing to redeploy the entire application. For example, an e-commerce platform using microservices to separate its user authentication, payment processing, and inventory management functions can update its payment processing service independently to accept new payment methods without disrupting the rest of the system.
If you’re struggling to scale your existing architecture or update your systems without excessive downtime, it’s worth considering how microservices can provide a more agile and future-proof foundation.
What are the Benefits of Microservices Development?
Adopting microservices can improve application development efficiency and system resilience, which can be a game-changer for your IT team and business at large.
These are a few key benefits of transitioning to a microservice architecture:
1. Agile application development and deployment
A microservices architecture streamlines the software development process to accelerate feature delivery and time to market.
If your organization plans to launch a customer rewards feature on an application, for instance, one team can own the end-to-end development of this microservice without relying on or modifying other system components.
Compared to a monolithic codebase, which requires extensive testing and redeployment of the entire application to make small modifications, microservices are optimized for DevOps and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), so developers can routinely improve application performance.
Additionally, since the software is built as modular components, teams can repurpose existing functionalities as building blocks for other features to further accelerate development timelines and improve resource allocation.
2. Scalable architecture to support growth
Microservices development makes it easier to scale and adapt your tech stack in response to business needs.
While monolithic applications are often stable, they can limit flexibility by locking you into a single vendor’s ecosystem. In comparison, microservices let you build, buy, or replace individual services so you can build out new capabilities based on customer demands.
This flexibility also extends to your infrastructure. A key benefit of cloud microservices is the ability to allocate computing resources dynamically based on real-time demand. This helps prevent overprovisioning and keeps systems efficient and resilient as workloads fluctuate.
Given the imperative for businesses to scale with greater precision and efficiency, it’s no surprise that the cloud microservices market is expected to reach $22.1 billion by 2031.
3. Improved resilience and business continuity
In a monolithic system, a single point of failure can bring down the entire platform.
Microservices can minimize this risk by decoupling and distributing key services. When an application is properly designed to handle faults, a service experiencing an issue can be isolated and managed independently while the rest of the system continues to function normally.
Improved fault tolerance reduces the risk of widespread outages, ensuring higher uptime, greater system stability, and a better experience for end users.
How Real-world Organizations Leverage Microservices Development
A microservices architecture can have transformative effects for organizations across industries. Here is just one example of how businesses can embrace a modular architecture to innovate in a competitive digital landscape.
Case Study: ASOS
ASOS, one of Europe’s leading online fashion retailers, needed a technology overhaul to meet the needs of its growing global customer base. In collaboration with Ensono’s expert digital transformation specialists, ASOS successfully transitioned its entire technology stack to the cloud and implemented a bespoke microservices architecture.
Adopting cloud-native microservices allowed ASOS to deploy service updates independently and optimize system performance for reach across international markets. ASOS can now hyperscale during high-demand events like Black Friday, which saw seamless performance and 99.9% availability for over 23 million active customers.
After modernizing its technology infrastructure, ASOS saw a 30% increase in annual revenue, positioning them as a global eCommerce leader equipped to meet evolving customer demands.
Future-proof your Business with Ensono’s Cloud Microservices and Cloud Native Microservices Expertise
While microservices development can introduce new flexibility to your tech stack, you need a strategic plan to derive maximum value.
At Ensono, we tailor our approach to cloud-native microservices based on your unique business goals. Our consultants are ready to help you find the right architecture and integration methods to modernize your legacy systems and support long-term scalability.
With access to hundreds of best-in-class microservices designs, you’ll have everything you need to enhance your capabilities while maintaining seamless connections across your tech stack. Let’s build your future-ready microservices strategy together.
Connect with Ensono today.