You Cannot Do Away with Mainframes: Build Microservices Alongside Monolithic Applications

As per a recently published statistic, 44 of the top 50 global banks are still using IBMZ Mainframes. Imagine a small refrigerator-sized machine that is capable of processing 2.5 billion transactions every day. That’s precisely what a powerful mainframe is capable. Hence industries like Banking are even today heavily investing in this infrastructure to run plain-old operations verticals like Retail banking which is essential to provide services like credit card transactions, ATM withdrawals, and online account updates, etc.

• Mainframes hold 80 percent of the world's business data and handle 90 percent of all credit card transactions
• Running 30 billion transactions per day, Mainframes are an essential investment for high-volume transactional workloads
• Almost 64 per cent of mainframe-powered organizations are likely to run more than half their mission-critical workloads on the platform

However, there are plenty of opportunities for leveraging the capabilities of the mainframe to deliver new digital services which are possible only through a transition to modern programming languages such as Java. Most Mainframe applications are archaic and Monolithic, built using legacy Programming like COBOL. Hence, the need of the hour is to transition from Monolithic Architectures over to Modern Microservices Applications.  

Monolithic Architecture: A Journey Through Time

A monolith architecture is a software application approach in which a single unit is constructed that is independent of other applications. The phrase "monolith" is commonly used to denote anything large and sluggish, which is similar to a monolith architecture in software design. A monolith is a huge computer network with a single code base that contains all business needs. To make a change in this sort of application, you must update the entire stack by accessing the code base and building and deploying an updated version of your service-side interface, which is cumbersome and time-consuming. Monoliths are important in the early stages of a project because they simplify code management, reduce cognitive overhead, and allow for quick deployment. Everything in the monolith can be released at once.

The Impact of Monolithic Architecture on Modern Architecture

Depending on the circumstances, organizations may profit from a monolithic or microservices design. The key advantage of employing a monolithic architecture is the ability to construct applications quickly owing to the ease of having a single code base.

Disadvantages of a Monolithic Architecture: What You Should Know

Monolithic apps, like Netflix, may be quite effective until they get too big and scaling becomes difficult. Making a tiny modification to a single function necessitates compiling and testing the entire platform, which contradicts the agile approach that today's engineers want.

Conclusion

For small-scale applications where deployment speed and ease of use are crucial, monolithic architecture works effectively. Because monolithic design eliminates the need for complicated deployment orchestration and inter-service communication, it may be easier to manage for small teams with limited resources.

However, introducing multiple new feature releases involving cross-departmental and functional collaboration requires multiple Microservices Applications. For instance, if a Bank’s has got a mandate to Modernize or Automate Manual Processes in the following areas:

• Build an Automated Guarantee management App for Underwriters
• Build a Payment Gateway that Enables Cross-Border Payments
• Build an Automated Treasury Management Application

Building such new features, applications, and capabilities using existing systems therefore requires the following:

• Design Microservices around business capabilities and not horizontal layers such as data access or messaging
• Before refactoring any Monolithic module take into account how it will impact your existing team structures
• It is therefore essential to have a well-defined roadmap to clear accountability by empower small teams that own an entire service

Our Mainframe Modernization and Change Management experts can help you evaluate the right opportunities that exist in your organization. Join us for a quick Envisioning Discovery session to see how top-tier, US-Based Banks, FinTech Startups, and Insurance Companies are modernizing at the speed of change.