In the last decade, the Spring Framework has evolved into the most popular framework for developing Java Enterprise applications. The Spring Framework has made it easy to develop loosely coupled, testable applications. It has simplified the implementation of cross-cutting concerns.

The world today, however, is very different from a decade back. Over a period of time, applications grew into monoliths, which became difficult to manage, and the never-ending search for solutions to these challenges continues. The buzzwords in the recent past have been microservices and cloud-native applications.

In this chapter, we will look at the problems with monolithic applications and get introduced to the world of smaller, independently deployable components, which are known as microservices. We will explore the reasons why the world is moving toward microservices and cloud-native applications. We will also look at one of the important Spring projects—Spring Cloud—and the solutions that it offers regarding the challenges with microservices. 

This chapter will cover the following topics:

• What are our goals when we develop applications?
• What are the challenges with monolithic applications?
• What are microservices?
• What are the advantages of microservices?
• What are the challenges with microservices?
• What are cloud-native applications?
• What are the Spring projects that help us in developing microservices and cloud-native applications?
• What is Spring Cloud?