Microservice Architecture
For 10 years IMPACT has used the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to build microservice architecture for a number of B2B and B2C customers.
WHAT IS MICROSERVICE ARCHITECTURE?
Microservice architecture is software architecture comprised of stand-alone services with independent APIs. Together, this constitutes a complete software solution.
Unlike monolithic architecture, microservice architecture displays each business logic as a stand-alone application. Each microservice is responsible for its own business area and can handle multiple business areas and applications that use different technologies.
It could be an email service that handles email sending; a basket service that ensures that the items on your website are placed in the shopping basket; a direct debit service that ensures online payment; or the various platforms, e.g., your CMS system, that secure your website content.
Microsoft Cloud
Gold Partner
Since 2010, we have used the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to build microservice architecture for a number of B2B and B2C customers.
The architecture has made it easier for our customers to scale their business as needed, while cloud-based management ensures that customers only pay for the services they need.
MICROSERVICE CUSTOMERS INCREASED TURNOVER WITH A CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM
Several large companies have converted their IT architecture to microservices. In July 2019, we launched Carl Ras’ new site, built with microservice architecture and a headless commerce approach that ensures an agile solution with faster time-to-market.
6 BENEFITS OF MICROSERVICES
The market’s leading IT architectures are built up from microservices. Here are six good reasons why:
MINIMIZE COSTS
Hosting costs, including hardware leasing, data centers and licenses, are minimized or eliminated completely. In addition, a flexible organization is created that, with the aid of microservices, switches a large number of capital costs to operating costs.
SCALES EASILY AND QUICKLY
When you build cloud-based microservice architecture, you can quickly and efficiently scale the solution to meet your specific needs. You can scale each service individually and only use it when it is relevant.
INCREASE EFFICIENCY
Microservices allow you to reuse services in different channels and different solutions. This reduces the resources required to correct errors or modify and expand the solutions involved.
In addition, agility in the organization is increased by the release of new features. Your organization’s growth is streamlined, and you ensure faster time-to-market.
CREATE SECURE PERFORMANCE
If monolithic architecture develops a bug, it risks affecting the entire site. In the case of microservice architecture, however, bugs will only affect the individual service in which the issue occurs.
CREATE FUTURE-PROOF ARCHITECTURE
With microservice architecture, errors are quickly detected and easily corrected, as individual microservices can be corrected and deployed as a smaller unit, as opposed to monolithic architecture, where everything must be deployed every time.
This reduces development risks and simplifies risk management.
AGILE BUSINESS
In a world where consumer expectations and desires are constantly changing, microservices help you create an agile business that can quickly and safely change direction if necessary.
HOW DOES MICROSERVICE ARCHITECTURE WORK?
To understand where and how microservices work, it is necessary to understand the overall architecture that each service is part of.
When IMPACT builds modern IT architecture, we rely on Gartner’s PACE-layered Application Strategy, a way to categorize, select, control and monitor applications.
The method supports business transformation, differentiation, and innovation.
Microservices-built software architecture works well with other modern technologies such as headless cms and commerce and cloud-based solutions.
PACE-LAYERED APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE
PACE-layered application architecture consists of three connected layers that can service each other, increasing agility.
The bottom layer contains fundamental business systems such as ERP and financial systems. The systems in this layer have a long lifespan – typically 10+ years.
The middle layer contains the business logic. It is built with microservices and is where you find the systems that differentiate you from your competitors.
In the top layer, called the experience layer, you will find your channels. It is these systems that provide the experience the user sees. It allows you to quickly respond to the changing needs of the market.
MONOLITH vs MICROSERVICE
For smaller companies with simple software architecture, monoliths can mean certain advantages, as they are faster and cheaper to get started.
For the vast majority of medium-sized and large companies, however, this will result in increased operating costs.
For a long time, the monolith has gone hand-in-hand with the waterfall model, where development takes place in longer locked phases, concluding in long-term implementation.
The development of microservice architecture takes place more agilely, working with scrums and in shorter sprints. This makes the development process more flexible and creates a better end result.
OFF-THE-SHELF SOLUTIONS
An alternative to microservice software architecture is found in the off-the-shelf solutions offered by Salesforce, for example. Instead of developing a tailor-made solution, globally scalable standard solutions are used.
Want to know more about Microservices?
Contact Peter. He will tell you more.
