Key Benefits of Microservices Architecture

Microservices architecture is a software development style that segregates the application into a block of modules. This modular practice of software development offers a range of benefits to the developers. Each module of the software is developed separately using a unique programming language irrespective of the language used in other modules. Moreover, these modules are managed by separate development teams and can be independently deployed and scaled. Microservices architecture helps organizations deliver quality systems and updates more frequently in a lesser time.

According to a survey, 54% of participants said their use of microservices had been "mostly successful," and overall, 92% of respondents reported at least "some success." In the same survey, it was reported that around 28% of respondents said that their companies have been using microservices for at least three years. Approximately 61%, that is, three-fifth of the respondents reported their use of microservices for a year or more. These statistics show how, in recent years, the adoption of the microservices model for software development has seen a rapid growth rate. The main reason behind this response is the numerous benefits that this architecture provides. Through this post, we will get to learn the ways microservices architecture has benefitted organizations.

Source: Oreilly.com

Microservices architecture

Microservices architecture is a rapidly evolving trend in software development. This architecture is highly scalable, efficient, productive, and provides excellent security. It allows software development to be divided into several little modules that can be developed separately. This type of model makes it easier to update, maintain, and access any of the modules without disturbing the other parts of the software. Thus, it is easier to detect and resolve any loopholes or errors in the code written for the particular module. Microservices architecture offers a range of attractive benefits to the organizations. Let's check out some of the key benefits one by one.

Key benefits of microservices architecture

1. Better Fault Isolation and Resilience

One of the most incredible benefits of employing microservices architecture is better fault isolation and resilience. Even if one part or module of the software fails to operate or faces some fault, its overall operation won't get affected. The modular architecture of this model guarantees the isolation of the failed module. It limits the problem of the failure from spreading to other parts or modules of the system. Subsequently, the update, including the solution or correction, can be deployed for the module instead of redeploying the whole software. Hence, this architecture allows effortless identification and resilience of faults and saves a considerable amount of time compared to traditional software development practices.

2. Enhanced team productivity

Microservices architecture includes segregating software into small and autonomous modules. Each of these modules is then developed separately by a special development team assigned solely to design a particular module and it's functioning. Similarly, after launch, that same team holds the responsibility of maintaining and deploying future updates for the specific software module. This helps teams to dedicate their whole focus to crafting the module assigned to them by using a set of relevant tools and technologies.

Moreover, teams gain expertise when it comes to handling and devising new updates for the team. As teams know what they do, they can focus more on making the module as precise and powerful as possible, thus making the system more robust as a whole. Moreover, the teams with ample knowledge and tools in their hands can work on innovations, thereby increasing the team's productivity.

3. Scalability

Microservices architecture allows the software to be divided into modules that can be run or operated autonomously. All of these modules perform varying functions and run independently. These modules hold excellent and independent scalability; it's relatively easy to update, increase the capacity, add and remove features.

Individual modules can be effortlessly scaled depending on the type and the part whose features need to be altered. This independent scalability feature allows teams to focus and work only on a particular module whose functionality needs to be scaled up. Thereby saving a considerable amount of time by mitigating the need of changing the whole codebase of the software which was the case in traditional development practices.

4. Continuous Integration and Delivery

The microservices model of software development comes with the feature of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery. This feature allows organizations to deploy new updates more frequently and faster into the market. This is because every module performs unique functions autonomously and comes with a unique team whose sole focus lies on it. This team is solely responsible for designing the modules for future updates, testing, and maintenance. Teams can deploy new updates and features for the module whenever they want to, independently.

It becomes quite effortless for teams to continuously integrate and deliver when it comes to microservices as they don’t have to alter the whole software. Any element of the software can be effortlessly modified without disturbing the other modules and the change can be deployed faster in a lesser time. Thus, with microservices, it becomes easier to test and deploy updates, thereby considerably reducing deployment time.

5. Better security

Microservices, when compared to monolithic architecture, offer better security. With fault isolation features, the software becomes more secure as even if one module's security is compromised, the other modules of the software won't get affected. Thus, the safety of other modules won't be compromised, giving the development team enough time to deal with the module whose security has been breached without worrying about the whole software security.

Moreover, for those modules meant to consist of sensitive information, the teams can design the best security measures. Thus ensuring that even if somehow there's a security breach in some part of the software, the module with the most sensitive data won't get affected. Before the condition worsens, the team assigned to the affected module can clear the threat and update the security in a lesser time as it is easier to troubleshoot threats in microservices.

Wrapping up

Software development has always been an extensive process that requires accuracy as well as a long development time. With a set of new models, software development and deployment have become much more straightforward with reduced development time. One such model is a microservices architecture that divides the software and services into a bunch of smaller modules and microservices.

These modules function independently, and a separate development team is assigned for each module that focuses on the development of its functionality and deploying future updates and maintenance. Microservices has emerged as the best model to develop software with features of fault isolation and resiliency, security, faster growth, and deployments.

If you'd like to learn more about how microservices architecture can be used in your software project, drop us a message! We're experienced in building microservices-based applications and we'll be happy to share our expertise with you.

About the Author
Hi there, I am Shaun Williams, a content writer with Goodfirms, a research platform for Cloud Computing, Ecommerce companies, Translation services companies, among many others. I enjoy communicating ideas and knowledge creatively and also ensure that the readers never suffer from boredom while reading my posts.