Accion Labs members share technology ideas to foster digital transformation.

Why Enterprises Are Moving from Monolith to Microservices

Written by Chitra Hirnawale | Nov 11, 2025 12:19:10 PM

Picture a major hospital group that uses a single software system to manage everything, including patient data, billing, prescription inventory, and internet bookings. The setup worked fine when the organization was small, but growth made it slow and difficult to update. Adding features like telemedicine or online payments turned into months-long projects. This is the reality for many organizations still tied to monolithic platforms. 

Monolithic systems are powerful when first deployed, but they slow innovation and complicate upgrades. The shift to microservices, supported by platforms like commercetools, offers a faster and more adaptable alternative.

Why Enterprises are Moving Away from Monolithic Platforms 

In a monolithic framework, everything is built into one codebase. Updating one feature often means redeploying the entire application. This creates risk, delays upgrades, and limits experimentation. 

Microservices flip this model. Each capability, including checkout, search, billing, and inventory, runs as an independent service. Teams can upgrade, test, or deploy one service without disrupting the rest.

Applications include:

  • Retail: Improve product search or launch a loyalty feature without touching checkout.
  • Healthcare: Add remote prescription refills without altering patient records. 
  • Automotive: Build an online showroom while keeping service scheduling intact. 

commercetools: Built for Microservices 

commercetools gives businesses a headless commerce platform aligned with MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) architecture. The platform helps enterprises modernize commerce experiences without re-platforming everything at once.

Here’s how commercetools supports digital transformation:

1. Flexibility  

Teams can build and iterate on new features independently. A retailer can launch a subscription service as a standalone feature without reworking the full product catalog.  

2. Scalability 

Healthcare organizations can handle spikes in telehealth appointments during peak times without performance issues. 

3. Faster Launch Cycles 

Automotive brands can roll out seasonal offers or regional campaigns quickly. There is no need to wait for a full platform release cycle. 

4. Resilience 

Since services are decoupled, updating one feature rarely affects customer experience across the rest of the platform. 

What Modernization Looks Like in Practice 

The shift to microservices changes how businesses operate, respond to market demands, and serve customers. Here's how different industries are leveraging a composable architecture with commercetools to modernize operations and stay competitive: 

  • Healthcare: Secure APIs help hospitals manage patient interactions, billing, and digital visits. Providers can grow without rebuilding core systems. 
  • Retail: Brands can support multiple payment methods, accelerate checkout, and push personalized offers across devices, including kiosks and apps. 
  • Automotive: Dealerships can deploy 3D product showcases or add financing workflows using external APIs, all while maintaining operational uptime. 

Looking Ahead 

Digital transformation is not only about moving to the cloudit’s about designing systems that are flexible by default. commercetools offers the foundation to break free from monolithic constraints and build experiences that evolve with customer expectations.

For industries like retail, healthcare, and automotive, adopting microservices through commercetools works like a business strategy that supports faster decision-making, lower operational friction, and better omnichannel engagement. 

Accion Labs works with enterprises to navigate this shift with minimal disruption. From assessment to implementation, we help teams move from rigid systems to more adaptable, API-first architectures.