Thoughtful Architect
Insights and reflections on software architecture.
Cloudflare’s recent outage reminded the world that even the most resilient edge networks can fail spectacularly. As half the internet blinked offline, we saw once again that centralization — even in the name of performance — comes with a cost.
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When the Tools You Trust Turn Paid: Bitnami, Broadcom, and the Price of Dependence
Bitnami was once a developer’s best friend — simple, open, and reliable. Now, under Broadcom, it joins a growing list of critical IT tools moving behind paywalls. This isn’t just about pricing. It’s about trust, control, and what happens when the infrastructure we depend on becomes someone else’s business strategy.
AI Won’t Replace Engineers — But It Might Mislead Those Who Think It Can
AI is reshaping how we build software, but it’s also reshaping how people *think* about building software. The danger isn’t that AI will replace developers — it’s that decision-makers might believe it already has.
Data Warehouse vs Data Lake vs Data Streaming: Making the Right Architectural Choice
Data architectures have evolved beyond static warehouses. Today, organizations must choose between warehouses, lakes, and real-time streaming platforms — or often, a mix of all three. Here's how to decide which one fits your needs.
Choosing the Right AWS Compute Service: Lambda vs Fargate vs EC2 vs App Runner vs ECS vs EKS
From serverless to container orchestration to classic VMs — AWS offers a wide spectrum of compute services. Here’s how to navigate the choices and pick the best one for your workload.
Best Backend Language for AWS Lambda: Java, Python, Node.js, or C#?
Choosing the right programming language for AWS Lambda is more than syntax — it’s about cold starts, performance, and your team’s workflow. Let's explore how each language stacks up in a serverless context.
API Gateway Showdown: Spring Cloud vs Apache Camel vs AWS API Gateway
Choosing the right API Gateway can make or break your system’s scalability, security, and development velocity. This article compares top contenders and helps you make an informed choice.
Don't Reinvent the Wheel: API Gateways in 2025
In a world of ready-made, feature-rich API gateway solutions, building your own is rarely justifiable. Here's why leveraging proven tools like Spring Cloud Gateway, Apache Camel, or AWS API Gateway is the smart architectural choice in 2025.
Workflow Orchestration Tools Compared: Find the Right Fit for Your System
Camunda, Temporal, AWS Step Functions, Conductor, and Airflow each solve orchestration differently. Here’s a practical guide to choosing the right tool, plus recommended resources to dive deeper.
Mastering the Orchestration Pattern: Why and How to Use It
Orchestration provides clarity, reliability, and control for complex workflows in distributed systems. Here’s why it matters, when to use it, and which tools can help you avoid reinventing the wheel.
Orchestration vs Choreography in Modern Architectures
Understanding the difference between orchestration and choreography is key to designing scalable, maintainable, and resilient microservices architectures. Here's a thoughtful guide to help you navigate these two coordination styles.
Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS, or Redis Streams? Choosing the Right Tool for Event-Driven Systems
Choosing the right message broker is crucial for event-driven architectures. This article breaks down the pros and cons of Kafka, RabbitMQ, NATS, and Redis Streams — helping you make informed choices for your architecture.
Event-Driven Architecture: Pros, Cons, and When It Makes Sense
Event-driven systems are flexible, scalable, and decoupled — but they’re not always the right fit. Here's when to use them, when to avoid them, and what trade-offs to consider as an architect.
5 Must-Read Books for Modern Software Architects
Architecture is not just about patterns—it's about principles, trade-offs, and the ability to reason about complexity. These five books shaped the way I build systems and lead engineering teams.
How to Choose the Right Architecture Pattern (Monolith, Modular, Microservices)
Choosing the right architecture pattern isn't about trends — it's about your team's structure, pace, and deployment goals. Here's how to evaluate monoliths, modular monoliths, and microservices based on 20 years of real-world experience.
Don’t Build Your Own Auth: Use Keycloak Instead
Rolling your own authentication system might sound fun… until it isn’t. Here’s why Keycloak should be your go-to IAM solution — especially when you need full control and on-prem deployment.
Why I Started Thoughtful Architect
After two decades building software, I've seen architecture celebrated, ignored, and misunderstood. Thoughtful Architect is my way of slowing down, reflecting, and sharing hard-earned lessons about designing systems that endure — not just scale.