Microservices are Dead! Long Live Microservices!

If you've scrolled through tech Twitter/X or reddit lately, you've probably seen people declaring:

• Microservices were a mistake!
• Microservices are dead!
• Microservices are a scam!

but thats just a catchy ragebait lol

But here's the truth: microservices are not dead. They're very much alive, running inside almost every major tech company you use daily.

So why do people keep writing eulogies for them? And as a junior developer, should you even bother learning microservices?

Are Microservices Really Dead? (Ignore the Clickbait)

The “microservices are dead” claim usually comes from frustration. Teams move from a simple monolith to dozens of microservices, and suddenly their infrastructure feels like it's held together with duct tape and YAML files.

They built systems that were overly complex, difficult to debug, and harder to maintain than a well-structured monolith would have been. When these projects inevitably became nightmares to work with, then frustration comes out.

Just because some people got food poisoning from poorly prepared sushi doesn't mean raw fish is inherently dangerous. It means you need to know what you're doing and choose the right context for your approach.

But that doesn't mean microservices are obsolete. It means they are misused.

The Unpopular Truth: Most of the Industry Runs on Microservices

Here's the reality:

• Netflix, Amazon, Uber, and Spotify still rely heavily on microservices.
• Kubernetes, Docker, and gRPC weren't built for monoliths — they were built for distributed systems.
• Most “microservices are dead” articles end up suggesting… modular monoliths. Which, ironically, is just a step on the journey toward microservices.

When you order food through DoorDash, you're interacting with dozens of different services.

• User authentication service,
• payment processing service,
• restaurant management service,
• delivery tracking service,
• notification service

All work together seamlessly. Each service can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently by different teams.

This isn't because these companies enjoy complexity for its own sake. It's because microservices solve real problems that emerge at scale:

• Team autonomy: Different teams can work on different services without stepping on each other's toes
• Technology diversity: Your payment service might be written in Java for its robust ecosystem, while your real-time tracking service uses Go for its excellent concurrency primitives
• Independent scaling: You can scale your order processing service during dinner rush without scaling your user profile service
• Fault isolation: If the recommendation service goes down, users can still place orders

Understanding the Evolution of Microservices

In the early days of web applications, most companies started with monoliths because they made sense. Small teams, simple requirements, and limited traffic meant that a single, well-organised application was often the right choice.

To appreciate microservices, you need to see the bigger picture of software architecture:

1. Monoliths - The classic “everything in one codebase.” Great for speed when you're small.
2. Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) - Larger systems are split into services, often with heavier protocols like SOAP.
3. Microservices - SOA's younger, leaner cousin. Services are smaller, communicate over HTTP/gRPC, and are independently deployable.

Think of it like city planning:

• A monolith is a single skyscraper with everything inside.
• A modular monolith is a skyscraper with floors clearly divided for different tenants.
• Microservices are like a neighborhood of buildings — each one specialized, independent, and connected by roads.

Common Use Cases for Microservices

Microservices shine when you're dealing with large, complex systems where different parts of the business have very different scaling and reliability needs. Instead of one massive codebase, companies break down functionality into smaller, specialized services that can evolve independently.

How about a real-life example: yeah, you guessed it: Netflix.

Netflix is often the poster child for microservices. When you hit play on a movie, you're not talking to one giant app. Instead, you're hitting dozens of microservices working together:

• A recommendation service that suggests what to watch next.
• The streaming service that delivers video at the right quality for your connection.
• And the billing service that makes sure your subscription is up to date.

Those are just a few of the services they run. The real architecture is much more complex than this.

By splitting these responsibilities, Netflix can update its recommendation algorithms without risking outages in video playback. Each part scales independently — streaming traffic during peak hours won't overload billing.

As you see, microservices aren't just a “tech trend.” They're how modern enterprises like Netflix, Amazon, and Uber keep systems reliable, scalable, and resilient in the face of millions of requests per second.

When You Shouldn't Use Microservices

Here's the truth that rarely makes it into conference talks: most teams don't need microservices.

Surprising take from someone who has a microservices course? It can be if I were trying to push you to use microservices for everything, but that's not the case.

Microservices are powerful, but they also come with heavy costs — deployments, networking, observability, and debugging across services. If you introduce them too early, you'll spend more time managing infrastructure than building features.

There are plenty of situations where a modular monolith is usually the smarter choice:

Solo founders and early-stage startups

I once spent two weeks setting up a “proper” microservices architecture for a side project… that never got a single paying user. I would have been better off with a simple monolith and a Stripe button.

Lesson learned: Don't be one of those startups that build “enterprise-grade” architecture before having a single paying customer — and collapse under the weight of their own complexity.

Small Engineering Teams

A company with fewer than 10 engineers rarely needs microservices. Why? The complexity will slow you down. A cleanly structured monolith can support years of growth before you hit real scaling limits.

Don't treat microservices as a badge of “serious engineering.” Treat them as a tool — one you reach for only when your monolith truly starts holding you back. Until then, keep it simple.

Why Learning About Microservices is Important for Developers

If you're aiming for a serious career in tech, understanding microservices is no longer optional — it's a core skill that will set you apart in the job market.

When I started interviewing for senior roles, I noticed a pattern: nobody asked if I could build a CRUD app. They asked: “How would you handle failures between services?” or “How would you design payments to be reliable?” Understanding microservices thinking gave me an edge.

I built my course because I couldn't find anything that resembled what I saw in production environments. Most tutorials stop at “hello world” — I wanted to show how to wire up REST, gRPC, and events into something you'd actually see in a tech company.

Conclusion

Microservices aren't dead. They've simply matured. Just like cloud computing or containerization, they've moved past hype and into the “boring but essential” stage.

As a developer, your job isn't to chase buzzwords.

It's to understand the trade-offs — when to use microservices, when to avoid them, and how to keep them from becoming a tangled mess.

And don't worry, you'll still see plenty of "microservices are bad" articles and rants, but guess what? They aren't going anywhere.