The world of software development is constantly evolving. And one of the concepts traditionally addressed, and which has evolved a lot, concerns the architectural and organizational approach to the applications to be created.
In this sense, we have the monolith application, where all functionalities are created in a single block, and its evolution, the microservices applications, where everything is divided into modules so that a series of advantages can be achieved.
But do you know how this last mentioned theme works?
So, let’s understand what microservices are and how they work, and cite 7 advantages and 3 challenges of this architectural approach. Keep reading until the end of the article we have prepared and happy learning!
What are microservices?
Microservices are software architecture approaches whose purpose is to divide each service independently. Thus, the “modules” resulting from this division can be managed individually, either for maintenance or optimization of existing features.
These divisions operate with integrations between APIs, which connect each end of the architecture to form a robust service for modern web applications. In this way, microservices offer many advantages, which we will see below.
Source: Pola Leszczyńska on Dribble
7 advantages of microservices for applications
1. Agility in development
By operating individually, each service developed can be managed in a more agile way, either by fixing bugs or adding new features. In addition, development is also made “simple” by the more limited scope where devs need to look.
2. Low coupling
Another important advantage is the low level of coupling between each microservice. In practice, this means that, if built correctly, the service will not depend on other modules in its operation. Even the system will not stop working completely if a microservice is temporarily down.
3. Scalability
Scalability is also a highlight in the use of microservices, which can grow according to the company’s technology team, without putting the application base at risk with the new features implemented.
4. Flexibility in choosing technologies
By operating individually, each microservice can be developed in different programming languages, which gives more power to the developer team. In this way, the team can use the best technologies to make the final product more robust and powerful.
5. Availability of operation
Betting on microservices is a great option for products that depend on high availability. Since the modules operate separately, a failure to operate doesn’t compromise the entire system — and that’s good for developers and users alike.
6. Operation redundancy
Directly linked to the previous item, the microservices architecture allows for more redundancy in the operation, which will allow the system to continue working in case of failure in any part. In practice, uploading a backup is relatively simple for teams that are organized and prepared for unforeseen events in the system.
7. Reduction of technical debts
Finally, on our list to understand how microservices work, we have the reduction of the product’s technical debt, where the risk to the project’s evolution is drastically reduced, since the development team is better able to manage the microservice code with more quality.
So, with the 7 advantages we present, we can see that microservices architecture is a great option to build modern and reliable applications. However, it’s not all flowers. Therefore, let’s meet 3 challenges of betting on this technological solution.
3 challenges of this modality
1. Scope management
The first challenge of using microservices is project scope management. How small and specialized should each module be? How many and which problems will it solve in a micro way?
Depending on the choice, your microservice project can generate a lot of work for the team and, in general, hinder the evolution of the software linked to it.
2. When to use microservices
Another important question is when microservices should be used, as monolithic applications — where there is no division of functionality — work well in many cases.
So, depending on the size of the software, the microservice will generate a lot of work for the team and this, in general, can hinder the evolution of the project.
3. Information security
In the microservices model, as we saw earlier, we have several points of contact with the main product. This creates a number of distinct follow-up needs, whether in security or complexity. Therefore, it is essential to consider this point when making your choice to prepare the team well.
When to use microservices?
Unfortunately, there is no single answer to that answer. It is important to know how microservices work, as well as the capacity and need of stakeholders to respond more assertively.
There are large companies that use the monolith model very successfully these days. Just as much of the technology market prefers the granular division of applications. But that answer, luckily, is very personal.
Therefore, when building your architecture, think about the needs of your project to make the best decision. This is how a mature and experienced team needs to behave in order to make the best decisions when building high quality products.
Did you like the content? So, take the opportunity to read: Open and closed innovation: concept, differences and benefits of each model
