According to studies, 90% of the Fortune 500 tech companies are currently using a mix of monolithic architectures and microservices. In fact, 50% of them have already fully transitioned to entirely distributed architectures.
Heavyweight, single-environment software solutions lounging on-premises are so early 21st century. We live in a world of connectivity, and in keeping up with the pace, the industrial approach to digital solutions must also shift from local to global.
We are all aware of cloud connectivity and are used to using payment gateways, booking portals, and every application that thrives on API. A microservice architecture aims to break down a heavy, hard-to-deploy solution (reference point: an ERP or a CRM) into smaller parts to facilitate easy management. The objective of APIs is to maintain communication between these microservices.
Now, suppose you are running a business. In that case, you may feel like you are content with your current on-premise solution that is perhaps handling accounting, human resources, company-wide communication, etc. But think of what you lose by not connecting to cloud infrastructures bolstered by APIs and microservices architecture. You are losing out on the rich data they may bring you to optimize processes. Not to mention, deploying them is way more cost-effective than developing and maintaining monolithic software solutions.
Still not convinced? Look into what other businesses from North America, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Europe are saying. Vanson Bourne recently conducted a survey of 500 senior technology decision-makers across the said regions. (89%) senior technology leaders say their “organizations are currently using a mix of monolithic architectures and microservices or have already fully transitioned to entirely distributed architectures.”
More specifically, 54% of respondents said that even the services they operate on-premises are connected to cloud services like Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud Platform. Adopting API and microservices integration will establish the relevance of these businesses in the coming days. If not, they fear the risks of losing out to a competitor that’s turning digital transformation on its head.
So, which areas can you optimize as a business by embracing an API-centric microservices architecture?
Company-wide operations
● Reduces the cost of deploying and maintaining a monolithic enterprise solution.
● They create a connected environment allowing free data flow which businesses can use to their advantage.
Customer-centric services
● Users are happier to choose a connected, wholesome solution that APIs and microservices can offer over something that thrives locally.
● Users are willing to pay for meaningful applications with intuitive interfaces. Therefore, API monetization is something businesses may consider to improve the bottom line.
