Accelerate Application Modernization with Node.js

Node.js is much more than an application platform. In a 2016 Forrester report, the research firm talked with several Node.js users and developers to better understand the growth of Node within global enterprises across all a range of industries.

Forrester’s key takeaways:

Node.js Is Enterprise Ready: Node.js is no longer just a platform for supercool digital startups and web-scale companies.

Node.js Powers Digital Transformation: Digital transformations require large technology shifts. Node.js enables companies to reduce the risk of these transformations.

Node.js Is More Than An Application Platform: Node.js enables rapid experimentation with corporate data, application modernization, and even drives internet of things (IoT) solutions.

Modernizing applications is a huge goal for many enterprises, and one of the key reasons that Node.js is growing so quickly. After years of restructuring and rebuilding, many more mature, traditional enterprises are steeped in monolithic applications that are cumbersome to update.

In order to deliver new services and products and embrace the many devices that we all use to access data and services, enterprises are pairing Node.js with microservice-based architectures to get the job done. Node.js’ asynchronous functionality and light footprint are a perfect fit for the bursty nature of microservice-architectures.

Below is a quick snapshot on how Lowe’s and Netflix have embraced Node as an enterprise-scale platform. For more insights from Forrester, be sure to download this free report courtesy of the Node.js Foundation (report is available until October 10).

Lowe’s Gets a Rebuild with Node.js

Lowe’s is a great example of a Node.js rebuild. Lowe’s has had an online eCommerce presence for many years, recently the company found that additive construction to support new businesses and devices had created an application monolith monster that needed a complete rebuild to make even the simplest of changes.

Once Lowe’s added Node.js on top of the service layer that supported the legacy application, the team was able to quickly and easily redesign the two highest trafficked web pages with minimal issues.

Today more business units within Lowe’s are looking to Node.js to help support increased online customer growth. You can learn more about this rebuild by listening to this webinar between Rich Adams, Senior Manager -IT Solutions at Lowe’s and Mark Hinkle, Executive Director of the Node.js Foundation.

Netflix Finds Node.js Fetching

A few years ago, the team at Netflix needed to re-architect the APIs responsible for fetching data every time a user plays a video or browses Netflix’s library. Why? They were using a monolithic applications that was cumbersome to update, and they wanted to ensure that they could scale faster across multiple devices.

Redesigning the data access service would allow Netflix to be more productive, save money, offer more reliable services, and deliver Netflix across various platforms (mobile, desktop, TVs). The IT team decided to rebuild this data access service, known as Edge, with containers running on Node.js apps.

As a JavaScript shop, Netflix knew their engineers would be comfortable working with Node. The platform team also concluded Node.js’ features would fit extremely well with containers. Node.js is extremely performant and has allowed Netflix to scale and save on costs. The vast Node.js module ecosystem ensures that Netflix does not have to continually reinvent the wheel when they need new features.

Learn more about why Netflix turned to Node.js in this Node.js Interactive presentation from Yunong Xiao, a principal engineer at Netflix.

Hey! Stay in Touch!

Want to stay up-to-date with Node.js news and new projects. Be sure to follow our newsletter and the Node.js Collection publication on Medium.

Don’t miss the chance to meet in-person. Join us in Vancouver, Canada from October 4–6 for Node.js Interactive, the biggest conference for Node.js developers. You’ll learn everything from Node.js security updates and best practices around front-end engineering to more about Node.js in serverless. Register today!