Microservices are often seen as the be-all, end-all solution to an organization’s woes. However, while they can improve communication and collaboration between different silos within your IT infrastructure, they also require organizational changes and a DevOps mindset to be successful. This post will discuss these implications in detail | BIT Technologies
What are microservices and why are they becoming popular?
Microservices are becoming increasingly popular because they offer several advantages over traditional monolithic applications. They are easier to scale since each microservice can be deployed independently. They are also easier to update since individual microservices can be redeployed without affecting the entire application. To summarize, microservices provide a software development process that is both more nimble and capable of accommodating future growth.
Martin Fowler and James Lewis describe the Microservices Architecture as “…an approach to developing a single application as a suite of small services, each running in its own process and communicating with lightweight mechanisms, often an HTTP resource API.” Not only do changes in the organization’s architecture have to come with software and infrastructure changes, like “componentization via services,” but the services need to be product-oriented instead of service-oriented. Also, the organization has to decentralize data governance and management while also enhancing all DevOps activities.
What are the drawbacks of microservices, in the case of companies with limited IT resources?
Microservices are a popular way to divide up software development, but they can be a challenge for companies with limited IT resources. Microservices require a lot of coordination between different teams, and they can be difficult to scale. In addition, microservices can make it difficult to track down errors and vulnerabilities. As a result, companies need to carefully consider whether microservices are the right choice for their needs. While microservices offer many benefits, they need to be carefully managed to avoid creating new problems.
Considerations that have to be made before moving to a microservices architecture
Before making the switch to a microservices architecture, there are a few key questions that need to be considered:
- Is the application well suited to be broken down into smaller services? Not all applications are a good fit for microservices, so it’s important to carefully assess whether or not this will be a good fit.
- Is it necessary to scale each component of the application? Some application components don’t need to be stratospherically scalable, they are only built for a specific purpose.
- Does there need to be frequent communication between the services? Unlike traditional, large monolithic services, microservices communicate with each other using instructions sent via HTTP/APIs. However, this added layer of communication can cause delays when processing real-time data.
- Are your traditional running and stable IT Systems compatible with microsystems? The majority of the IT landscape is a mix of old and new, so we need to be honest about whether our microsystems framework will work with our IBM Z/OS from 1989.
- Complexity and DevOps adjustment: the cost of maintaining an architecture of microservices, with its operational changes, is high. It requires having a truly dedicated DevOps team.
- Is the team prepared to manage and maintain a larger number of services? Microservices can require more upkeep than a traditional monolithic application, so the team needs to be prepared for this additional work.
- Is your QA team enabled to perform UATs? While traditional monolithic structures let you run tests more quickly, it can become a difficult endeavor if each isolated part needs to be tested.
- Are the right tools and technologies in place to support a microservices architecture? The infrastructure needs to be able to handle the increased complexity of a microservices system.
By answering these questions, organizations can determine if microservices are the right move for their business.
Considerations of legacy systems and microservices architectures
As stated above, microservices can introduce additional complexity and overhead, which may not be feasible for older systems. In addition, legacy systems may not be able to take advantage of the benefits of microservices architectures, such as increased flexibility and scalability. Therefore, it is essential to carefully weigh the pros and cons of microservices before deciding whether or not to implement them. Ultimately, the decision should be based on whether or not the benefits of microservices outweigh the costs and risks associated with legacy systems.
Additionally, scaling up to microservices without having a clear plan on how to integrate them with the existing systems may result in software instabilities. These can be caused by poor application code that has difficulty communicating with external systems that are responsible for performing other fundamental transactions.
Conclusions
Microservices can be a great way to improve the agility and productivity of a team, but they come with a few key considerations. Before making the switch, it’s important to ask yourself if microservices are the right solution for your project. There are potential drawbacks to using microservices that you should be aware of before making the switch. However, when used correctly, microservices can be an effective way to improve your team’s productivity and agility.
If you want to see how we can help boost the potential of your company’s architecture, contact us and we would be happy to help out!
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