A Look at the Future of Microservices and Serverless

Technology is advancing at an incredible rate right now, so it is not surprising to see new tech and trends shaping up on the market all the time. 2018 was a fantastic year for developers thanks to the advancements in microservices, more robust implementation of cloud computing, and serverless architecture taking center stage.

These developments and updates are only the beginning. In the case of microservices and serverless architecture, experts are already predicting faster iteration and even more innovation in these fields. So, what can we expect in the near future?

The Year of Microservices

Before we look into the new developments to expect in 2019, it is worth taking a closer look at some of the big leaps that happened last year. 2018 was the year of microservices. It was the year when more developers structured their apps and solutions using microservices for better robustness.

Cloud solutions such as AWS and Azure are the main drivers behind the wider adoption of microservices. The cloud is made for microservices and the two complete each other. Using the microservices approach, developers can also push their agility to the next level, all while maintaining high availability and system reliability.

2018 saw a significant change in perspective over microservices. The monolith development approach was no longer enough to meet the challenges of today and switching to microservices has been seen as the only way the development process could be made more efficient. Though some think that it’s worth thinking carefully about before diving into microservices architecture—don’t just join in the “madness” because Netflix has.

Driving Serverless Further

As microservices were adopted by more developers, it was becoming clear that containers were no longer the best foundation for rapid and agile development. Sure, containers have their advantages, but they also come with higher overhead. When you have microservices running in their own containers, that overhead quickly adds up.

Serverless architecture takes a more convergent approach. Rather than worrying about server resources, you can find cloud service providers who will do most of the work for you. In return, you pay only for the exact resources you use; no more buying a pre-allocated set of server resources to run your microservices and solutions. It’s also worth mentioning that many event databases are serverless now too. For example, at reInvent 2018, AWS announced Aurora Serverless, a SQL database that runs without the user/customer having to worry about provisioning/resizing the underlying instances.

Serverless architecture has matured since it was first introduced. That brings us back to our initial question: what can we expect from microservices and serverless architecture in the future?

Microservices in a Multi-Cloud World

One of the most exciting developments to anticipate is the use of microservices across multiple cloud environments. This isn’t a new idea, but it is an idea that can be implemented thanks to multi-cloud solutions and the tools we have today.

Multi-cloud brings added benefits to the microservices approach. Rather than being limited to the allocated server resources and their restrictions, complex applications can now run across multiple cloud services and take advantage of their specific features.

Microservices related to database and information management can utilize Oracle’s cloud environment for better optimization. At the same time, other microservices can benefit from the Amazon S3 for extra storage and archiving, all while integrating AI-based features and analytics from Azure across the application.

Beyond Kubernetes

Kubernetes provides a great way to manage cloud computing and containers on a larger scale. It simplifies a lot of routines associated with the scalability of containers. However, Kubernetes still carries over those overheads for using containers.

Expect to see serverless architecture gaining more traction this year. With cost-efficiency becoming more of a focus in development projects, serverless architecture is simply unrivaled. You can deal with spikes, use more (or less) resources on-demand, and scale up in a smooth and fluid way, all while paying no more than the minimum operating costs.

There are even ways to push serverless architecture to the next level. Cloud Firestore and S3 can be used to support multi-cloud serverless architecture. Tokenization and the integration of cross-server encryption also make it possible to run transactional routines in a multi-cloud environment, no matter how complex the routine may be.

The Unexpected Developments

These big leaps bring a long list of new approaches and advancements to the table, starting with better utilization of clients. While the norm is to use client interface on a presentation layer, apps constructed using microservices in a multi-cloud environment can be configured to work with richer clients.

Rather than simply displaying information, for example, rich client nodes can run their own processes and have a more complex database in the cloud using NoSQL. S3 and other cloud solutions can be used for creative purposes, including for handling queues and acting as an intermediary. Firebase certainly makes this type of implementation easier.

Even then, we still have so many new developments to anticipate. It is easy to see how microservices and the shift towards serverless architecture will continue to bring big changes and leaps to the cloud landscape in 2019.

For more on microservices, check out our article on working with them in collaboration with Kubernetes or our other piece on communication between microservices.