How to Efficiently Scale Your Startup’s Tech Stack for Maximum Growth

Kristijan Pušić | July 24th, 2024

When scaling your IT startup, choosing the right tech stack is crucial to ensure efficiency, flexibility, and long-term growth. IT startups usually face scaling issues in their lifetime before they hope to join the enterprise world. The rise in numbers of users or plans for future massive growth are usual suspects from the “why?” scalability problems happen in the first place. In this article, I will talk more on this issue and how to scale a tech stack efficiently and be ready for enterprise production issues.

The code that worked in the past now is not scaling correctly. More users are coming and in peak periods your frontend solution isn’t working properly? Time for re-thinking the strategies and changing and re-writing what needs to be re-written. In a different technology or in a different way. Time for a good old external code review of the old solution of the IT startup. 

Setronica is entering its 3rd decade of existence in the IT world and has worked with a lot of enterprise IT companies. Setronica has gathered a lot of experience in resolving issues of scaling the hardware and software of enterprise projects. Scalability of the enterprise solutions was definitely high on our list of tasks.

Let’s start a code review from the frontend solution.

Angular or ReactJS are usually used to develop frontends for enterprise IT projects.

Angular uses OOP (object-oriented programming) for lots of its functionalities. Most of its features are based on classes (components, directives, pipes). OOP concepts are a powerful tool in Angular development and can help developers build scalable and maintainable web applications. Encapsulation, abstraction, inheritance, and polymorphism are all important OOP concepts that are used in Angular to create complex systems.

Generally speaking, use OOP when you need to model complex systems with multiple entities and interactions.

Use OOP when you need to encapsulate data and behavior into reusable components. Use FP (functional programming) when you need to perform pure calculations with simple inputs and outputs, and when you need to avoid side effects or state changes.

React encourages the use of functional programming and a declarative approach to building user interfaces, rather than the classical OOP approach. Yes, you can certainly use Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles and techniques in React, but it’s important to understand that React is primarily designed around a different programming paradigm known as component-based architecture.

If you prioritize structure, scalability, and maintainability for complex applications, Angular might be the way to go. If flexibility, rapid UI development, and a vibrant community are your top concerns, ReactJS could be the better fit. 

Both Angular and ReactJS can utilize Micro frontends. 

Micro frontends enhance web development agility and scalability by allowing independent development of application modules. This approach is particularly useful for large and complex web applications that require flexibility and faster iterations. 

Whatever frontend solution you as an IT startup already have, it can be fully replaced to cover on security or scalability issues it might have. Times are changing and in rapid agile development there is no need to wait more than a few months to get a new and scalable frontend solution. Ready to join hard work in enterprise environments. 

Backend solution re-factoring or adding a middleware solution that uses the same database?

A bigger issue is if an IT startup backend solution is not up to the task of scaling. Badly written backend is nothing new in the IT startup market. Making it work would be a lot of reverse engineering time spent. The bare situation of “somebody else has written the code” is becoming a problem in large and complex backends. A new team will not likely take a badly written backend, even if it is scaling properly. No documentation and spaghetti code are enough reasons even from a business perspective to leave the current backend as is and proceed in a different direction. 

Middleware solution on a new IP address is always a good idea. One new backend that can take some of the functionality of the old system and make new features that business needs. Larger systems will surely need up to a year to re-work, while making a middleware solution usually doesn’t take longer than six months. The choice is clear. 

By selecting the appropriate tech stack and following best practices, your startup can efficiently scale its technology infrastructure. By this, ensuring robust performance and the ability to adapt to future growth challenges. Here’s an overview of popular tech stacks, including LAMP, ASP.NET, MERN, and JAVA stack, and how they can help you scale your startup effectively.

LAMP Stack

Good old Linux survived quite a lot and is still very popular in the stacks. WordPress is the best known product with the LAMP stack, where P stands for PHP. Go instead of python/php is also an option. Generally, Go doesn’t need Apache to sit in front of it, since it has a pretty fast HTTP server and router. This way, we can use three- letter acronyms. I’d go with Linux with Go and Postgres. There’s no fancy acronym for it, but you can make one up if you like. LGP stack!

Components: Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Go

Advantages:

• Stability and Security: Proven track record of stability and robust security.
• Cost-Effective: Open-source components reduce costs.
• Flexibility: Supports various web applications and is highly customizable.

Use Cases: Ideal for startups needing a stable, cost-effective solution for web applications, content management systems, and dynamic websites. 

JAVA Stack

Spring is a popular Java framework that enables the development of enterprise applications in a modular and lightweight manner. It includes modules for web development, security, data access, and testing. Java developers can also use a variety of database systems, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle. Java also has robust security features, making it a popular choice for sensitive data applications.

Components: Java, Spring Framework, Hibernate, Tomcat/Jetty

Advantages:

• Spring Boot Starters: Think of these like ready-made blueprints that make setting up parts of your application quicker. They help with things like databases, security, and messaging.
• Spring Boot Actuator: This is like a set of tools for making sure your app works well when it’s out there being used. It helps keep an eye on how healthy your app is and gathers useful data about it.
• Platform Independence: Java applications can run on any platform with a JVM.
• Robustness: Strong typing and comprehensive error checking make Java applications reliable.
• Scalability and Performance: Excellent for building large, scalable applications.

Use Cases: Best for startups developing complex, large-scale enterprise applications, financial services, and mobile applications.

MERN Stack

The MERN stack is like a list of free tools that work well together to build cool websites. One of the key advantages of the MERN stack is its ability to use JavaScript on both the client and server sides, which reduces the need for developers to switch between different programming languages. Imagine MongoDB as the organized storage good at handling different kinds of data. Express.js as the helpful framework, React as the creative front-end maker creates dynamic and responsive website parts. Node.js as the engine that runs everything all together.

Components: MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js

Advantages:

• Modern UI Development: React provides a robust framework for building user interfaces.
• Full JavaScript Stack: Simplifies the development process with JavaScript across the stack.
• Scalability: Supports scalable applications with ease of integration between components.

Use Cases: Ideal for startups focusing on dynamic web applications, particularly those requiring a rich user interface and real-time updates.

ASP.NET Stack

Stack Overflow, a vital resource for developers worldwide, uses the ASP.NET stack to handle millions of user queries and interactions efficiently. The stack provides the scalability and performance necessary for real-time data processing and display. The ASP.NET framework is designed to support many languages, including C# and Visual Basic. It seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft technologies such as Azure, SQL Server, and Visual Studio. It is a Microsoft technology, so it may not be the best choice for developers who prefer open-source platforms.

Components: Windows Server, IIS, SQL Server, ASP.NET

Advantages:

• Integration with Microsoft Products: Seamless integration with other Microsoft services and tools.
• Enterprise-Level Support: Strong support and updates from Microsoft.
• Scalability: Built-in features for scalability and performance optimization.

Use Cases: Best for startups targeting enterprise-level applications, needing tight integration with Microsoft products, or requiring high-performance web services.

Let’s finish the article with repeating a few best practices on how to structure the process when scaling a tech stack. 

Here are some best practices to consider when preparing your tech infrastructure for future challenges:

1. Choose the Right Stack

Selecting the appropriate technology stack is the foundation of any scalable tech strategy. Evaluate both your current and future needs to ensure the stack you choose can support your growth trajectory. Factors to consider include:

• Ease of development: Ensure the stack simplifies the development process for your team.
• Performance: Choose technologies known for their robustness and efficiency.
• Scalability: Opt for solutions that can handle increased load and complexity over time.
• Community support: Strong community support can be invaluable for troubleshooting and ongoing learning.

2. Microservices Architecture

Adopting a microservices architecture can significantly enhance scalability and maintainability. This approach involves breaking your application into smaller, independent services, each responsible for a specific functionality. Benefits include:

• Scalability: Individual services can be scaled independently based on demand.
• Flexibility: Easier to update, deploy, and maintain different parts of the application without affecting the entire system.
• Resilience: Fault isolation ensures that a failure in one service does not bring down the entire application.

3. Automate and Monitor

Automation and monitoring are essential for maintaining the health and performance of your tech stack. Implementing continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines can streamline your development and deployment processes. Key practices include:

• CI/CD pipelines: Automate testing, integration, and deployment processes to reduce manual errors and increase efficiency.
• Monitoring tools: Utilize monitoring tools to track application performance, detect anomalies, and quickly address issues. Tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and New Relic are popular choices.

4. Database Optimization

Optimizing your database is critical for ensuring efficient data handling and performance. Depending on your data requirements, you may need to choose between SQL and NoSQL databases. Best practices include:

• Database selection: SQL databases are ideal for structured data and complex queries, while NoSQL databases are better for unstructured data and scalability.
• Query optimization: Regularly review and optimize database queries to enhance performance.
• Indexing: Implement appropriate indexing strategies to speed up data retrieval and reduce load times.

5. Leverage Cloud Services

Utilizing cloud platforms can provide the flexibility and scalability needed to support your growing startup. Cloud services offer various managed solutions that can reduce operational overhead and streamline your infrastructure management. Consider the following:

• Cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud offer robust cloud services that can scale with your needs.
• Managed services: Use managed services for databases, storage, and computing to focus more on development and less on infrastructure management.

By following these best practices, your IT startup can build a resilient and scalable tech stack that supports rapid growth and adapts to evolving business needs. Embracing the right technologies, architectures, and strategies will ensure your tech infrastructure is robust, efficient, and prepared for future challenges. Please contact me via a form if you have questions or suggestions. 

Ready to Enrich Your Team?

Kristijan Pušić

IT consultant and Business developer

Our consultant is at your disposal from 9 AM to 5 PM CET working days from Monday to Friday for any additional questions.

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