The Myth of Microservices
• Architecture, Microservices, System Design
The Premature Optimization of Distributed Systems
In the world of software architecture, “microservices” has become a synonym for “modern.” Recruiters buzz about it, junior developers dream about it, and CTOs fear missing out on it.
But here is the brutal truth: You probably don’t need microservices.
The Complexity Tax
Every architectural decision comes with a cost. For microservices, that cost is distributed complexity.
- Network Latency: Function calls become network requests.
- Data Consistency: ACID transactions are replaced by eventual consistency and complex sagas.
- DevOps Overhead: Deploying one monolith is easy. Orchestrating 50 services is a full-time job.
The Engineered Clarity Approach
Start with a Modular Monolith. Build well-defined boundaries within a single codebase. If—and only if—a specific module requires independent scaling or has a wildly different resource profile, extract it.
That is engineered clarity. Anything else is just resume-driven development.