What fits a company better? - monolith or microservices

The age-old debate of monoliths vs. microservices is more nuanced than just deciding how to split your code into components. There's a hidden factor that doesn't get talked about enough: the value of starting with a small monolith.

Why Monoliths Rock in the Beginning

• Simplicity: No fancy distributed system headaches. One codebase, one deployment – it's just easier to get your project off the ground.
• Debugging & Development: Finding and fixing issues is straightforward when everything lives in the same place. New features? No messing around with service boundaries.
• Data Consistency: Handling transactions across multiple services can be a nightmare. A monolith simplifies data management.
• Deployment & Scaling: You can get away with simpler tools and processes. Need more resources? Just spin up a bigger server (for a while, at least).

The "Small Monolith" Sweet Spot

This isn't about building a giant, tangled mess. A small monolith still encourages clean code, well-defined modules, and even some separation of concerns. It's about finding the balance between quick wins and future flexibility.

When (and How) to Evolve

Microservices have a lot to offer as your project matures and complexity grows:

• Independent Scalability: Scale individual services based on demand.
• Technology Flexibility: Use different languages and tools for different parts of your system.
• Improved Resilience: Isolate failures to specific services.
• Faster Deployment Cycles: Update individual services without redeploying the entire application.

But that transition doesn't have to be rushed. If your monolith is getting unwieldy, consider:

• Gradually Extracting Services: Start with the pieces that make the most sense to decouple.
• Building New Features as Microservices: This lets you experiment without disrupting your core.

The Bottom Line

Don't get caught up in the hype! A small monolith can be your best friend in the early stages. Focus on building a solid foundation first, and when the time is right, evolve your architecture in a way that makes sense for your project.