Spending two decades in the middleware field has given me deep insight into the evolution of this technology domain. I began my career as a software engineer in a platform group, building reusable components using technologies like object linking and embedding (OLE), the distributed component object model (DCOM) and common object request broker architecture (CORBA).

gRPC is an inter-process communication protocol used in high-performance applications in cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile computing, and microservices environments. This article examines how gRPC works, how to use it, and how it compares to other popular API architectures. It also discusses a unique use case where gRPC excels.

Processing, storing, and sending data is at the heart of how we communicate and get business done. This involves implementing various applications, software, and mobile devices that together form an intricate web to process data and information. Programmers will often use message brokers to facilitate this constant flow of information. Message brokers and Pub/Sub messaging systems are instrumental in allowing applications, services, and systems to communicate effectively.

Maximizing the value of streaming data requires carefully navigating operational tradeoffs when developing and managing cloud native applications. Organizations that are rapidly producing and processing high volumes of data — like Netflix, Salesforce, Shopify and even the United States Postal Service (USPS), are constantly applying and testing new methods to manage the complexity of data streaming in the cloud.

Banking is about financial transactions. These are executed by sending payments and instructions over middleware. If you control the middleware, then you control the business. If the middleware fails, then the company fails. If you can see and analyze the transactions going through the middleware, you can see the business itself. And if you have real-time analytics of that data and it’s automatically actioned, then you can innovate and accelerate the company’s development.

MQTT is becoming the standard protocol for applications that operate in environments where network connectivity is intermittent or unreliable, reducing bandwidth usage is a priority, or where hardware resources are limited. In this post you will learn about some specific use cases where businesses are seeing value from making MQTT part of their tech stack.