Microservices refer to a form of architecture that structures an application as a collection of services which can be deployed independently, is loosely coupled and is organised around business capabilities. Microservices are not one of those technologies that every company should adopt. This type of architecture should only be availed for developers who design and engineer apps rapidly. At the same time, you should not be transitioning to a microservice architecture even if you focus on building applications, as the majority of the time, a monolithic architecture can be sufficiently loosely coupled, tested, and deployed to enable rapid software delivery.
Adopting a microservice architecture becomes a no-brainer when the application becomes large, complex, and developed by multiple teams. Keep in mind, however, that as highlighted by Garner, a microservice architecture is more complicated than other forms of architecture as it demands more effort and discipline to design, build and manage it. This article will act as a guide for those wondering whether they should be adopting microservices.
Typical Challenges Associated With Microservices
While a microservice architecture provides many benefits, including improving maintainability, enabling the continuous delivery of large complex applications, and offering better testing capabilities and deployability, there are also a few challenges microservices are known to pose. Here are four of them:
Complexity in Design
A microservice architecture supports organisations that handle large application developments across teams. But this becomes challenging if there are multiple microservices. A microservice architecture is way more complicated to design than traditional monolithic apps. It, therefore, requires you to be more mindful of the size of each microservice and identify the boundaries and connection points. Defining what the microservice should do can be quite challenging, with companies facing the risk of over-partitioning or stuffing too much into a service.
Difficulty with Testing
Microservice testing is not the most straightforward. Since each system has its own set of dependencies, trying to keep track of each becomes hard. With the number of services added, more dependencies that will arise. In this respect, the difficulty of implementing a framework that considers fault tolerance for every service is also an important point. One small fault or failure in one service could lead to the entire system falling. Implementing a framework that prevents a system from experiencing downtime when one service fails adds pressure.
Prone to Poor Configuration
With the number of independent services running on an application, they must still communicate with one another. This can only be done by configuring infrastructure layers that enable resource sharing. However, incorporating a robust configuration system can be challenging, thereby facing the risk of prolonged latency and reduced speed of calls across services. This results in an unoptimised application with a slow response time. Hence rather than speeding up processes, a company will find itself slowing down.
Monitoring Can Be Hard
The point of monitoring microservices is not simply to assess and record the status of each individual microservice. Rather, it is to assess the sequence chains of microservices and identify which sequential chain is slow. However, trying this in a web of microservices is a lot of work. It takes a lot of time and effort to find the problem, delaying the time to address the root cause. In reality, therefore, companies may be wasting time on unnecessary tasks that could have been solved more easily.
Situations When You Should Adopt Microservices
Now that microservices are not the go-to solution for all application developers, on what factors should a company decide a microservice architecture is most appropriate? As a report by Allied Market Research notes that the microservice market is projected to grow to USD 8 billion by 2026, consider whether the below apply to your company:
Where You Have A Large Staff
A microservice is not the most practical for a start-up, considering that a team of fewer people will have to manage the issues pertaining to a microservice architecture instead of focusing on building the product. A large workforce ensures that there is always someone to provision resources instantly to keep up with the pace required to make the most of microservices. The level of monitoring that should be carried out is also mostly possible when there is ample staff. A noteworthy point is embracing a DevOps culture that, unlike the traditional setting, which requires developers to focus on features and functionalities while the operation team focuses on production challenges, requires everyone to be responsible for service provisioning and failure.
When You Transition to Cloud-Based Systems
A company with a cloud-based system would find microservices architectures perfect. This is because microservices widely complement a cloud server’s flexibility, scalability, resilience and other features. In contrast, adopting a monolithic application in a cloud environment would not allow you to unlock all the advantages of what it has to offer. Microservices, however, allow its applications to sync easily with features of cloud computers. This process has resulted in microservices sometimes being referred to as cloud-native applications. The infrastructure of a cloud service can meet the dynamic and constantly changing requirements of microservices. Additionally, since cloud servers can easily integrate with third-party services, connecting to microservices with databases, analytics platforms, and monitoring software becomes much easier. Examples of companies that have adopted microservices in the cloud include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
Cerexio: Provides a Microservice Architecture with No Drama
As the number of challenges microservices is quite long, one way to ensure the microservice architecture you adopted is adequately implemented is to look for a reliable software vendor. Cerexio, one of the best digital software vendors with industry 4.0 technologies, has authentic microservice capabilities, allowing your end users to effortlessly and self-reliantly customise interfaces and complete their tasks the way they want with no problem. It is equipped with advanced data capabilities and security within the applications. It has a project-based microservice architecture, is a widely scalable software solution, and can easily integrate innovative auxiliary services for large-scale and complicated apps.
Connect with us to learn whether a microservice architecture is in the best interest of your company.
Do Not Blindly Adopt A Microservice Architecture
It is important to really consider whether a microservice architecture is what you want. Note that it will be harder to go back to a monolithic system if you decide to transition your architecture to microservices. This is because the services would have already been written in various languages, and the teams would be used to being autonomous. At the same time, microservices can offer a range of benefits. Whether such benefits suit you depends on your business operations and end goal. It is always best to seek an expert opinion in this regard before deciding. Do your research, reach out to the right people, and make sure to make an informed decision.
A microservice architecture supports organisations that handle large application developments across teams. But this becomes challenging if there are multiple microservices. A microservice architecture is way more complicated to design than traditional monolithic apps. It, therefore, requires you to be more mindful of the size of each microservice and identify the boundaries and connection points. Defining what the microservice should do can be quite challenging, with companies facing the risk of over-partitioning or stuffing too much into a service.
This article is prepared by Cerexio, a leading technology vendor that offers specialised solutions in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Sector. The company is headquartered in Singapore and has offices even in Australia. Cerexio consists of a team of experts that have years of experience and holds detailed knowledge on a range of subject matters centric to the latest technologies offered in manufacturing and warehouse operations, as well as in predictive maintenance, digital twin, PLC & instrumentation setup, enterprise integrator, data analytics and total investment system.
