Let's go straight to the point: there is no specific team size that is considered "ideal" for migrating a monolithic architecture to microservices. Period. The decision to migrate should be based on the specific needs of the application and the team's experience and capabilities. Then why do I keep writing this article on a Friday night, instead of just dropping it to watch Netflix on a comfy bed? Because, as everything in tech, there's a set of good practices that lead to statistical averages that apply to most businesses.
As a general rule of thumb, migrating to microservices is often more suitable for larger teams with more experience and expertise. This is because microservices architecture is generally considered more complex and difficult to manage than a monolithic architecture. Teams that are familiar with microservices and have experience building and maintaining them will be better equipped to handle the increased complexity.
Additionally, it's important to keep in mind that migrating to microservices requires a significant investment in terms of time and resources. A larger team with more experience and expertise can help ensure that the migration is done smoothly and efficiently...
Ok, and what is exactly a "large team"?
As you will see in the next few lines, our concept of "large team" is a pretty realistic one. Why, you ask? Because the average number of developers working at an European SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) in 2017 was that of approximately 2.6. Yeah, 2.6 developers per company, that's what you read.
In general, a team of 6 to 8 developers with experience in microservices and familiar with the application domain would be a good starting point. That means approximately 2 to 3 times the size of an average SME. It's also important to have a dedicated DevOps team with experience in containerization, orchestration, and monitoring. That means you should avoid Juniors at all costs, keep that in mind.
Even though that's an attainable number, 2 to 3 times the size means 2 to 3 times the salary cost, without considering hiring investments: time, money, hiring mistakes and more. That being sad, solutions such as ours at Ikigai may provide you the best cost-benefit relation when migrating your monolithic application to microservices or building a new one from scratch. Get in touch and we'll be glad to help you master your tech challenges, while you focus on what you do best.
