<\/p>\n
What are microservices?<\/h1>\n
Whereas a monolithic application is built as one central unit, with all functions sharing the same runtime environment, an app built with microservices breaks down the environment according to function<\/a>. In other words, a microservice is a simple piece of functional code that conducts one or more specific actions. This could be anything from a calendar component to a map or even a payment function.<\/p>\n Working together, all of these microservices form the app that is then delivered to the end user. Take a ridesharing app as an example. The app has a lot of different functions, each one filled by a different microservice:<\/p>\n These microservices tend to communicate with each other through APIs, which facilitate a seamless flow of information from one to another, optimizing the user experience as they navigate through the application.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beyond facilitating agility, the benefits of microservices include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n APIs can be seen as doorways that allow internal and external developers to access the data within a microservice \u2014 or to use its functionality. Often, they offer a standardized approach<\/a> for a system to access other applications, microservices, or data that\u2019s outside the code\u2019s direct environment.<\/p>\n One thing to know about APIs is that there isn\u2019t a set standard or format for how they\u2019re built and used. In fact, the API landscape is always evolving, and this can pose challenges in terms of integration, communication, and security.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Software companies that use APIs see a number of different benefits:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As part of the API economy, leading organizations are making their services available for other brands to use their technology \u2014\u00a0rather than reinvent the wheel every time. As such, companies that are building a new application can focus on leveraging their own expertise, rely on others for the collateral systems, and move faster. This is a key example of how microservices and APIs work together.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s go back to the ridesharing app example for a moment. Rather than build their own map, they could use an API to leverage the Google Maps map instead. In the same vein, they could use Stripe APIs for payments, or Twilio for sending text messages to their users.<\/p>\n Since APIs aren\u2019t all built the same, many developer teams will have an API gateway<\/a> that acts as a central point of communication between microservices, translates requests from differently formatted APIs, and monitors the availability of a microservice. API gateways also aggregate the various microservices required to fulfill each API call and return the appropriate result.<\/p>\n Another important consideration in these multifaceted environments is security. Today, APIs are the preferred attack vector for cyber criminals, and standard security mechanisms don\u2019t factor in all the nuances required to keep APIs secure. A recent report<\/a> has shown that 95% of companies had an API security incident in the last 12 months. To reduce the risk of these attacks, companies need to employ best practices for API security<\/a> at each stage of the development and production lifecycles, and keep a thorough inventory of their APIs and microservices.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About the Author: <\/strong>Ali Cameron is a content marketer that specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B SaaS space. Besides writing for Tripwire’s State of Security blog, she’s also written for brands including Okta, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Taking an unusual route into the world of content, Ali started her career as a management consultant\u202fat PwC where she sparked her interest in making complex concepts easy to understand. She blends this interest with a passion for storytelling, a combination that’s well suited for writing in the cybersecurity space. She is also a regular writer for Bora<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today, if you want to be competitive within the technology industry, you need to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
The benefits of microservices<\/h2>\n
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What are APIs?<\/h1>\n
The benefits of APIs<\/h2>\n
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How do microservices and APIs work together?<\/h1>\n
![\"Ali](\"https:\/\/aikdesigns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ali-Cameron-.jpg\")
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