Any business using Microservices understands that there are specific needs that have to be considered for multiple tools at any given time. Using microservices to divide up the process into specific tasks is something that helps business processes become more modular, more customizable, and ultimately, more efficient than any singular workflow on its own.
However, microservices can be a lot to handle, and when your process consists of numerous little containers and applications like that, you may find yourself interested in the use of Microservices Orchestration to make up for that level of engagement. But if you’re going to levy a workflow engine that offers orchestration, you should be sure it’s right for you.
What Can Microservices Orchestration Do?
Microservices orchestration integrates your various containers of the same workflow and places them under a controlling “engine” that directs and informs each individual microservice as part of a whole. With an orchestration engine in place, you are capable of centrally controlling your workflow from start to finish, and among other things, connecting them to each other in a way that allows for more cohesive and accurate transfer of workloads and related data.
Orchestration can pull together various virtual machines and make them behave like one large machine — a well-oiled one that efficiently uses the resources and time of each application, rather than wastefully keeping each one running for the whole process.
What Are The Signs That You Need It?
If you’re considering a workflow engine for microservices orchestration, there are some options to weigh. The biggest thing, of course, is knowing that it’s needed; after all, a brand new implementation like this is an investment of time and effort. So, how do you know that you need microservices orchestration? Chances are, if you see some of the signs mentioned below, you’re likely in need of this type of assistance in your current workflow.
Your Processes Require Automation
If your business workflow is one that has many moving parts, you likely don’t have time to keep up with all of them and still get your own important work done. Handling the timing of specific actions throughout the process can be tiring in its own right, and what’s more, it’s not always going to be an exact science if you’re relying on yourself or other people on your team to handle each task in kind. Automating tasks is a great way to take this burden off of you and your team, not only because it mitigates the errors that come with various manual operations, but because it frees up your time. You aren’t forced to orchestrate the timing of specific activities yourself: instead, the workflow engine you employ can do it for you. Automated work is becoming all the more useful in the business world no matter where you look, but the handling of microservices is one shining example of how much a business process can improve from implementing specific automations.
Your Microservices All Function Using Different Languages
Microservices are all different applications, different micro-processes in their own right, churning out specific services of their own that become more useful when they combine as part of the larger process. But to do that, there needs to be an understanding and communication between these microservices. This is often done through APIs that help to convert the information from one application and its native language to that of the next. However, when you find yourself implementing microservices that all use different languages between themselves, it’s likely a sign that you need orchestration in the mix. A workflow engine orchestrates these microservices by integrating with each and every container of the process in language-agnostic ways that make communication between all the components of the process far smoother, and more universal for the entire workflow.
Your Business Requires Special Attention To Data Governance
If you have to focus on stringent requirements for your industry when it comes to data compliance, you might want a workflow engine in place, as many of them help to enforce specific, singular guidelines that you set for data being used or shared with microservices. Additionally, microservices can change their data governance in a modular fashion, so if you need to alter governance on a large scale, or even only partially throughout the process, you can do so in a centralized way through the engine itself.
Your Process Requires Many Microservices
If you find your process consisting of various microservices might have too many containers to keep up with on your own, it’s best that you find yourself a good orchestration tool. Microservices orchestration will help by enabling you to control and monitor the various parts of your overall workflow in a holistic fashion, while still being able to single out and analyze each part of the whole. Whatever you find your process accomplishing, that performance can be measured and reviewed from behind one pane of glass, rather than having to continually audit each and every part of a machine with many cogs therein.
Conclusion
Whether it’s the level of attention paid to data, or the size of your microservices operation, there are varying factors that help one decide whether to take the plunge. If you look at the above signs and identify with any of them, it’s likely that you’re going to need microservices orchestration to resolve the issues you see. Only paying attention to the needs and characteristics of your own business process will tell you for sure!
