The monolith has a bad reputation it rarely deserves. For most systems it is the cheapest shape: one deployment, one database, no network between the parts.
It becomes a problem not through size but through missing internal boundaries, and because many teams depend on the same release.
How you notice it
- One deployable unit holds everything.
- A small change requires a full release.
- Teams block each other on the same codebase.
Frequently asked
Is a monolith a problem?
Rarely by itself. A well structured monolith is easier to operate than five badly cut services. The problem is the tangle inside, not the single unit, and splitting a tangle produces distributed tangle.