Deciphering cloud-native microservices and their business value

As companies strive to innovate, many are turning to the power of cloud-native infrastructure. In simple terms, cloud-native refers to building and running applications that leverage the distributed computing capabilities offered by the cloud delivery model. 

In a short span of time, the IT infrastructure of numerous organizations has transitioned to cloud-native applications. Experts at Gartner estimate that by 2025, over 95% of new digital workloads will shift to cloud-native platforms, representing a 65% increase compared to 2021. 

This blog provides insights into the world of cloud microservices and the wide array of benefits that are driving companies worldwide to embrace this approach. 

Understanding cloud microservices 

Microservices is an architectural approach that structures an application as a collection of services. These services are designed to handle individual tasks, ranging from implementing specific capabilities to executing processes. Cloud microservices break down complex systems into smaller, interconnected services that work together to provide enhanced functionality and minimize the risk of application failure in the cloud. 

Let's take the example of binge-watching a season on Netflix. Behind the scenes, cloud microservices enable us to enjoy our favorite shows by targeting our specific interests. For instance, in 2017, Netflix's microservice architecture consisted of around 700 microservices, breaking down large software programs into smaller components with their own data encapsulation. 

Connecting cloud-native and microservices 

Cloud-native focuses on how applications are built, designed, administered, and made available by fully utilizing the cloud. The microservice architecture plays a crucial role in the cloud-native platform by enabling efficient function execution and delivering value to end-users. What sets microservices apart is their ability to scale horizontally, partition workloads, and provide flexibility in service architecture and delivery. This need-based service delivery system works wonders when organizations need to cater to certain dedicated requests at crunch hours or when there is a need to increase bandwidth.  

Benefits of cloud-based microservices 

• Enhanced developer velocity 

Cloud microservices make development, testing, and deployment easier by eliminating the need to worry about servers and deployments. This enhances developer velocity and accelerates development turnaround. 

• Improved scalability 

The autonomous nature of each microservice allows for individual scaling, updates, and removals without disrupting other microservices. Multiple servers can be deployed to handle services, minimizing the impact of demanding components. 

• Increased agility 

Cloud microservices enhance agility by enabling rapid development, testing, and launching of software applications. This allows organizations to focus on high-value tasks such as security, monitoring, and analysis. 

• Resilience 

Well-designed cloud-native applications remain online even during infrastructure outages, ensuring zero points of system failure. This helps organizations prevent instant blackouts and enables them to continue providing services even if one or two components shut down for maintenance or due to any outage.  

• Minimal downtime 

Containerized systems enable software updates with almost zero downtime using cloud-native platforms. Additionally, development operations can be distributed among teams, allowing concurrent work on different tasks. 

• Cost reduction 

Organizations utilizing cloud-native platforms built on microservices only pay for service requests, reducing costs. Netflix is a prime example of a company that has successfully reduced costs through their cloud microservice architecture. 

Deciding your next move 

In summary, cloud-based microservices inject agility back into businesses through their dedicated-service approach. Competitive features such as parallel development, load shifting, reduced dependencies, and high scalability make cloud microservices a game-changer for any organization. With a team of skilled cloud architects, you can plan, manage, and maintain microservices to unlock your business's hidden potential. 

If you're seeking enterprise-grade, cloud-native services that transform your business with best practices, reach out to our experts today.