Microservices are a popular approach to building modern software, offering scalability and flexibility. But many teams face challenges such as increased complexity, difficult debugging, and managing too many small services.

In this talk, I'll introduce an alternative: Self-Contained Systems (SCS). Unlike microservices, SCS allows each part of your application to operate independently with its UI, logic, and database, simplifying both development and deployment.

You'll learn why SCS can be a better fit for many projects, how it reduces the complexity of distributed systems, and when it makes sense to use this approach over microservices. Based on my current customer project, I'll show you how to build self-contained systems with pure Java.

If you're ready to rethink your architecture and say goodbye to microservice headaches, this talk will show you the way!

Microservices promise flexibility but often bring complexity. This talk presents Self-Contained Systems — an alternative architecture where each part of your app has its own UI, logic, and database. You’ll see how SCS simplifies development and deployment, reduces distributed-system pain, and why pure Java is a perfect fit for building them.