Insights on Microservice Architecture Through the Eyes of Industry Practitioners

TL;DR

This study investigates how industry practitioners migrate from monolithic legacy systems to microservices, addressing motivations, modernization activities, data persistence, and common challenges through 53 respondents across varied regions. Using a mixed-methods design, the authors quantify preferences (e.g., per-service databases, testing practices) and synthesize open-ended responses to derive practical themes and lessons. Key findings show operational/technical drivers, diverse decomposition strategies by business capabilities, and persistent data-consistency trade-offs, with cloud and monitoring tools playing a pivotal role. The work contributes an actionable, practitioner-centered view that complements academic roadmaps and informs both practitioners and researchers about realistic migration practices and future research needs.

Abstract

The adoption of microservice architecture has seen a considerable upswing in recent years, mainly driven by the need to modernize legacy systems and address their limitations. Legacy systems, typically designed as monolithic applications, often struggle with maintenance, scalability, and deployment inefficiencies. This study investigates the motivations, activities, and challenges associated with migrating from monolithic legacy systems to microservices, aiming to shed light on common practices and challenges from a practitioner's point of view. We conducted a comprehensive study with 53 software practitioners who use microservices, expanding upon previous research by incorporating diverse international perspectives. Our mixed-methods approach includes quantitative and qualitative analyses, focusing on four main aspects: (i) the driving forces behind migration, (ii) the activities to conduct the migration, (iii) strategies for managing data consistency, and (iv) the prevalent challenges. Thus, our results reveal diverse practices and challenges practitioners face when migrating to microservices. Companies are interested in technical benefits, enhancing maintenance, scalability, and deployment processes. Testing in microservice environments remains complex, and extensive monitoring is crucial to managing the dynamic nature of microservices. Database management remains challenging. While most participants prefer decentralized databases for autonomy and scalability, challenges persist in ensuring data consistency. Additionally, many companies leverage modern cloud technologies to mitigate network overhead, showcasing the importance of cloud infrastructure in facilitating efficient microservice communication.