Top 7 Benefits of Microservices Architecture

Imagine a huge department store with products, such as furniture, appliances, groceries, etc. If a single manager is in charge of every department, how difficult will the management become? But what if there are different managers for different departments? Management will become much easier. 

The above scenario mirrors what we call monolithic and microservice architecture. In a traditional monolithic approach, you must deploy the entire application on a single code base. This makes it difficult for developers to scale just a single component without affecting the entire application.

However, in a microservice architecture, the application is broken down into small, independent services. Each of these services has its own responsibility and carries out its function.

Microservices address the major problems of monolithic architecture, making it a popular choice. In fact, 73% of organizations have already adopted microservice architecture. This is because of the extensive benefits of microservices development. 

In this blog, you will learn about these benefits along with examples of organizations that have experienced them.

 A Quick Roadmap

• Benefits of Microservices Architecture
• Improved Scalability
• Better Fault Isolation
• Data Security and Compliance
• Faster Time to Market
• Cost Effectiveness
• Two Pizza Development
• Language Neutrality
• Factors to Consider Before Selecting Microservices Architecture
• Microservices: The Way Forward
• FAQs 

“Not so Micro” Benefits of Microservices Architecture 

Increased Adaptability

List a few marketplaces you are aware of! I’m sure Amazon will be in the top 3 names of your list. 

However, did you know that in 2001, Amazon was struggling to scale as per customer demand? They were using a monolithic architecture. Due to this, they were facing challenges like development delays, coding challenges, and service inter-dependencies. 

This made them shift towards microservice architecture. They divided their application component into independent services. Then they assigned a team of developers to develop each of these microservices.  

After that, they were able to adjust resources and features as per demand. This resulted in an impressive improvement in their website's functionality. Thus, a microservice architecture can help scale individual components without affecting the entire application. 

Also, in monolithic applications, you must take down the entire software to update. However, with Microservices Development Services, you only need to work on the service you want without affecting other components. 

Enhanced Fault Isolation 

Suppose you are running a restaurant, and you prepare all orders in a single kitchen. Now suddenly, there is a gas stove issue in the kitchen, preventing your chef from cooking food. This will not only affect the dine-in orders but your delivery orders as well. 

And unless you repair the fault, you can't take any new orders. However, if you have two separate kitchens for dine-in and takeout, at least one service will be running while you repair another. The same goes with microservice architecture. 

Running a single kitchen is like a monolithic model. Your entire software will be affected due to one issue. However, in microservices, only the affected component will work, but the entire software will operate flawlessly. 

 So, with a microservice architect, you get better resilience and a lower impact of failure. 

Better Data Security and Compliance

According to an IBM survey, 29% of respondents were able to improve the security of company and customer data, while 26% made their application protection better.

Do you know how? By shifting to Microservices Development Services. As you can break components of software into small, independent services, it is easier to implement security measures. 

For instance, if an issue arises in one component, your team can identify it faster and resolve it. This will not affect the other components of the application.

If your business operates with highly sensitive information, you need to ensure safety measures like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). 

With a microservice architecture, you can enhance your safety measures and adhere to these compliances.

Faster Time to Market 

Etsy, a leading e-commerce platform, was looking for greater resilience and flexibility to innovate faster in response to fluctuating market needs. This made them shift to a microservice architecture. 

As a result, they can now make faster upgrades and innovate as and when needed. In fact, they can deploy even 50 times a day. 

As in the Microservices Development Services architecture, a developer can update or change components quickly due to smaller codebases. Also, microservice architecture follows a continuous integration and continuous delivery philosophy. 

So, you can deploy core microservices of software and update the software over time with additional microservice development.

Economic Efficiency

Microservice architecture may seem like a lot initially. This is due to the significant cost associated with setting up the infrastructure and an agile team. However, in the long run, this approach is highly cost-effective and a source of savings.

For example, after experiencing major database corruption in 2008 (that made its services unavailable for three days), Netflix began moving to microservices development. And they experienced a significant reduction in their streaming costs due to the same.

Also, as each team works on small, well-defined services. So, it becomes easier to reduce overall maintenance and deployment costs. 

Two pizza Rule

In the initial days of Amazon, Jeff Bezos set a rule: “every internal team must be small enough that it can be fed with two pizzas”. And a microservice architecture can support this rule.

In the context of microservices architecture software development, this aligns with the concept of creating small, cross-functional teams that work on specific microservices. 

So, a microservice architecture fulfills the two pizza development concepts of having a small team that can collaborate effectively.

Language Neutral 

You can develop microservices architecture software in any of the following languages: Java, Python, C++, Rust, Mojo, and COBOL. This is because each service operates independently. So, they can be developed using the most suitable language for their specific requirements.

This allows you to select the tech stack that will work best for each microservice. So, you don't need to compromise the best tech stack with an incompatible one for particular components.

These were some of the major benefits of adopting microservices architecture software development. However, microservices development services may not be everyone's cup of tea. 

You need to decide thoroughly if it is suitable for your organization's needs or not. As it increases complexity and testing challenges. Here are few points that can help you decide if it’s the right choice for you or not.

Explore Further: Microservices vs Monolithic

When You Should Use Microservices Architecture

• Project Size: Utilize microservices architecture, if you are building large software that is complex in nature. A simple application may not need a microservice architecture.
• Project Update: If your software demands scalable and flexible components, microservices may be a good option. 
• Team Competency: It requires specialized skills. So, you should evaluate if the expertise is available within your team or not. 

Make The Shift Towards Microservices Architecture Today

Reading all the benefits of microservices architecture and software development must have helped you understand it better. Even though there are a few challenges to this architecture, the benefits outweigh them. That’s the reason why many big players like Netflix, Uber, Spotify, etc. have already adopted it.

And if you, too, are thinking of adopting a microservices architecture, we can help. We make the transition from monolithic to microservices a smooth and hassle-free journey for you. Our experienced developers have successfully helped organizations make the transition and can help you too.