Critical Reflection: The Strategic Return to Monolithic Architecture After Microservice Challenges
Overview
- Analyzes why a leading company decisively reverted from microservices to a monolithic system.
- Highlights the intricate challenges and overlooked pitfalls inherent in microservice architecture.
- Advocates for a nuanced, pragmatic approach tailored to organizational needs rather than blind adherence to trends.
The Turning Point: Why Did Wantedly Make a Bold Choice?
In Japan, Wantedly, Inc., a pioneering tech firm, encountered unexpected obstacles after aggressively adopting microservices for its scout feature. Although microservices are often championed for their promise of flexibility, scalability, and rapid deployment—much like having tailored tools for each task—they also bring about complex dependencies and management headaches. Over time, engineers faced an array of issues, from tangled inter-service relationships that resembled a knot of overlapping wires, to data inconsistencies that hampered decision-making clarity. For example, updating one service often inadvertently disrupted others, much like a chain reaction in a row of dominoes. These mounting problems made it clear that, despite initial enthusiasm, microservices were no longer fitting their needs. Recognizing this, Wantedly decided to reintegrate these fragmented components into a unified, monolithic system—just as a busy highway might be rebuilt into a single smooth road—to enhance stability, simplify maintenance, and speed up development cycles. This decision underscores an important lesson: sometimes, simplicity and cohesion trump complexity, especially when managing rapidly changing systems.
Implementation Approach: From Fragmentation to Unity
Resuming a monolithic structure wasn’t a haphazard choice but a carefully planned, step-by-step process. The Wantedly team used a methodical strategy—integrating one API at a time, much like patching holes in a dam gradually rather than catastrophically breaching it all at once. They employed powerful tools such as BigQuery to analyze the API traffic, identifying high-demand endpoints—akin to pinpointing the most heavily traveled roads in a city—which allowed them to target the most impactful areas first. Each API merge was followed by rigorous testing, comparable to a quality check before the launch of a major product, ensuring that system stability remained intact. This incremental approach minimized risks and provided continuous feedback, confirming that simplifying the system allowed for faster deployment, reduced bugs, and enhanced speed—much like how consolidating multiple convoluted instructions into a clear, concise manual makes everything easier to understand. This disciplined process demonstrates that sometimes, stepping back and reassessing in a deliberate, phased manner yields the most effective long-term benefits.
Lessons for Technology Strategy: Embrace Flexibility and Context
What can we learn from Wantedly’s experience? The key takeaway is that the best system architecture is not one-size-fits-all, but rather context-dependent. While microservices are celebrated for enabling autonomous teams, supporting diverse tech stacks, and facilitating rapid updates—comparable to having specialists handling different parts of a complex project—they also come with significant drawbacks. These include managing dependencies that are as intricate as a spider’s web, maintaining data consistency across multiple services, and conducting extensive testing—like troubleshooting a multi-layered network. When these challenges begin to outweigh benefits, flexibility becomes critical. Sometimes, reverting to a monolith—just like unifying scattered pieces into a single, sturdy puzzle—can dramatically improve reliability and ease of management. The crucial insight is that technology decisions should be made through careful analysis, not mere trend-following. Recognizing when to pivot, adapt, or revert ensures that organizations stay resilient, efficient, and prepared to meet evolving demands—an essential mindset for sustainable growth.
References
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