To begin, we need to understand what these architectures are all about…

Microservices: Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle. It’s made up of small, specialized services (like authorization, file management, notifications). Each service is independent and interacts primarily with a base service.

Monolithic: The entire application is built as a single unit. All functionality is managed within that unit, with strict logical separation.

When are microservices the right choice?

Team management: It works well for large projects with large teams. By breaking the project into smaller, more manageable units, development becomes easier.
Optimization: When a service reaches its optimization limit, microservices can offload and scale specific functionality, providing a cost-effective solution to overloading issues.

Why go monolithic?

Data Synchronization: The independent nature of microservices can make data synchronization quite a challenge. Whereas monolithic structures simplify this process.
Ease of development: With everything centralized, developers can work with ease.
Adaptability: A well-structured monolithic system can transition to microservices when the business needs change over time.

The choice between microservices and monolithic should be project-specific. Avoid adopting microservices just for the sake of it; it could end up slowing down the development process. Similarly, if you’re expecting a high volume of requests, don’t go monolithic by default. Evaluate the project’s needs and scale before making a decision.

—Rodislav Zaharadji