What are microservices used for?

Microservices architecture provides organizations with a high degree of flexibility when designing, developing, and scaling platforms, processes, and applications. In this model, software systems are composed of small, independent services that communicate through well-defined APIs, enabling scalability, agility, and continuous delivery across workflows.

According to AWS documentation, “with a microservices architecture, an application is built as a collection of loosely coupled services, each running a specific business process and communicating through lightweight APIs.” Each service is responsible for a single business function.

Microservices are not a future trend—they are already widely adopted. A study shows that 63% of enterprises are adopting microservices, reporting tangible benefits such as:

• Improved employee productivity and team efficiency
• Enhanced user and customer experience
• Reduced infrastructure and operational costs

Characteristics of microservices

- In a microservices architecture, software is divided into independent functional components. Each service can be developed, deployed, and updated without impacting other services.

- Unlike monolithic architectures where teams focus on a single codebase, microservices promote modular and cross-functional development.

- Each microservice is decentralized and typically manages its own data or database.

- Microservices can be developed and maintained by small, autonomous teams.

- Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) are easier to implement.

What are microservices used for?

Although the concept of microservices may seem abstract at first, this architecture is widely used in real-world scenarios across industries.

• Legacy application modernization

Modernizing legacy systems is often complex and risky. Microservices enable organizations to incrementally modernize applications, ensuring scalability, flexibility, and long-term maintainability without rewriting entire systems.

• Real-time data processing

Microservices support asynchronous communication and event-driven architectures, making them ideal for processing and analyzing data in real time. Streaming platforms such as Netflix are a clear example of this capability.

• Big data applications

As explained by QAT Global, big data systems rely on pipeline-based architectures. Microservices naturally fit this model, as each service handles a small, specialized step in data ingestion, processing, or delivery.

• Fast-growing companies

Microservices architecture is particularly valuable for rapidly growing companies, as it enables systems to scale seamlessly while adapting to continuous organizational and market changes.

Companies using microservices development

Netflix

Netflix processes billions of service calls daily and supports hundreds of device types through its streaming APIs. Its microservices-based architecture ensures service resilience and uninterrupted streaming experiences at global scale.

Amazon

Amazon was one of the first large enterprises to adopt microservices, enabling it to handle massive volumes of web and mobile requests every second with high availability and scalability.

eBay

eBay leveraged microservices to improve development efficiency and enhance customer experience by enabling faster feature delivery and system resilience.

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