Web applications are increasingly popular, but are they truly “real” applications? Given the limitations of web technology, it’s clear that web “applications” can’t match the functionality of traditional desktop applications. This is why 96.4% of users still prefer desktop software (like Word) over basic online tools (such as Google Docs).
An interesting observation about the limitations of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is found in “Software Pipelines and SOA: Releasing the Power of Multi-Core Processing.”
The demand for more flexible software systems is evident in the rise of SOA, which aims to provide adaptability to meet new needs and competitive threats. SOA has proven to be a superior technology compared to older IT architectures. However, it introduces unique challenges, particularly in terms of performance and scalability.
SOA tends to require significantly more computing power than earlier monolithic designs. The nature of loosely coupled services inherently demands message-centric application development. Developers must not only write processing logic but also manage message transmission, validation, interpretation, and generation—tasks that are CPU and process-intensive.
As SOA adoption grows, the volume of messaging will likely soar, placing immense strain on existing IT systems and amplifying the potential for performance issues. This mirrors previous evolutionary phases in software development. Historically, each time a new architecture is adopted, performance and scalability challenges emerge, with many projects failing during the shakeout period. J2EE, for example, had a rocky start, and businesses faced significant hurdles as they adapted to the new design.
Historically, when immature architectures faced performance bottlenecks, hardware advancements could alleviate these issues. The increasing performance of CPUs allowed these systems to “catch up.” However, the plateau in microprocessor technology, due to factors like power consumption, heat generation, and quantum mechanics, means that this solution is no longer viable. The era of easily boosting single CPU performance is over. Today, multi-core processors are the norm, but to leverage their full potential, software must implement parallel processing—a capability that most applications today lack.