Do Microservices Equal the Death of the ESB?

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In 2015, the middleware world is focusing on two buzzwords: Docker and Microservices. Software vendors still sell products such as the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) or Complex Event Processing (CEP) engines. How is this related?

Docker is a fascinating technology to deploy and distribute modules (middleware, applications, services) quickly and easily. Most people agree that Docker will change the future of software development in the coming years.

Microservices is NOT a technology, but a software architecture style. Many people say that Microservices killed the Enterprise Service Bus because Microservices use smart endpoints and dumb pipes. I presented at the Microservices Meetup in Munich in June 2015. Most attendees were surprised to learn that TIBCO is relevant for Microservices. I heard that question in several customer meetings, too. This was the main motivation for this talk. I want to share the slide deck and video recording from this discussion with you…

Abstract: Why Use TIBCO for Microservices?

Microservices are the next step after SOA. Services implement a limited set of functions. Services are developed, deployed, and scaled independently. Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery control deployments. This way you get shorter time to results and increased flexibility.

Microservices have to be independent regarding build, deployment, data management, and business domains. A solid Microservices design requires single responsibility, loose coupling, and a decentralized architecture. A Microservice can to be closed or open to partners and public via APIs.

This session discusses the requirements, best practices, and challenges for creating a good Microservices architecture, and discusses if this spells the end of the ESB.

Key messages of the talk:

  • Microservices = SOA done right
  • Integration is key for success—the product name does not matter
  • Real-time event correlation is the game changer

Slide Deck from Microservices Meetup in Munich, Germany

Here is the slide deck:

Microservices = Death of the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)? from Kai Wähner

Video Recording on YouTube

The session was recorded (thanks to the guys from AutoScout24):


Looking forward to your feedback… is the ESB dead or not? If not, what kind of ESB (or better said in 2015: Service Delivery Platform) do you use? If yes, how do you implement “ESB features” in your projects? “Simple” REST services and server-code under the hood, or how else?