You’re re-architecting a monolithic application to a microservices model. What is the best approach to minimize business impact?

Replacing application features with microservices in phases is the most effective approach to minimize business impact while re-architecting a monolithic application to a microservices model. This gradual transition allows for a controlled and systematic rollout of new features and functionalities, enabling the organization to monitor each change closely and mitigate risks effectively.

By adopting a phased approach, developers can prioritize which parts of the application are most critical to users and focus on refactoring those components first. This incremental strategy aligns closely with agile practices, allowing for regular feedback from stakeholders and end-users. It provides opportunities to test and validate each microservice independently, ensuring that nothing is broken during the transition. Additionally, if any issues arise during a specific phase, it can be addressed without impacting the entire application, maintaining the overall stability of the system.

Other options might introduce more significant risks. For instance, deploying the application to Compute Engine and enabling autoscaling may improve infrastructure efficiency but does not inherently address the architectural challenges associated with transitioning from a monolith to microservices. Likewise, refactoring the entire monolith and deploying all at once can lead to substantial risks, as it complicates testing and increases the likelihood of hidden issues affecting the entire application. Finally, building a new microservices application separately from the mon