Migrating to microservices at MACH-speed

Bill Doerrfeld | December 2, 2024

The latest issue of DirectorPlus looks at a successful microservices migration story.


"There was no way to maintain that without a sledgehammer," says Gus Fune, Chief Technology Officer at DivBrands. Microservices can decouple software, easing maintenance and preventing outages, yet migrating to a microservices architecture from a legacy stack is challenging.


In this issue of DirectorPlus, Gus Fune shares the story behind reverse engineering a monolithic e-commerce platform following MACH principles, which stands for microservices, APIs, cloud-native, and headless. In the end, the transition actually saved them from losing revenue.


From sledgehammers to emojis, we see how they got there and what the benefits have been, and look at some tips other engineering leaders should consider when embarking on a microservices migration.


Read the article on LeadDev here.


Read: Migrating to microservices at MACH-speed

Sign up to the DirectorPlus newsletter for a new story in your inbox each month featuring on-the-ground insights from some of the industry's top engineering leaders. Or, if you would like to be featured in the series, please read this.

Other Blog Posts

MC'ing at apidays New York 2026

By Bill Doerrfeld • May 18, 2026
The yearly API conference, apidays New York, is a hotbed for solid discussion on what's top of mind in the API space, and as MC I had a front row seat.

Using agentic AI to accelerate sales teams

By Bill Doerrfeld • May 13, 2026
My latest for CIO Online features real results form CIOs actively deploying AI agents to empower sales and revenue teams.

Avoid hastily bolting AI into existing products

By Bill Doerrfeld • May 12, 2026
Reports say consumers are souring on AI everywhere, all the time. So, at the risk of losing trust, or even potential business, is adding AI to an existing product really worth it?

Agentic rebuilds are the new forking

By Bill Doerrfeld • May 1, 2026
Cloudflare rebuilt Next.js over a weekend using agentic coding.

Agentic AI requires new systems thinking

By Bill Doerrfeld • April 20, 2026
My InfoWorld feature reviews the key building blocks in agentic systems and with real-world examples from Shopify, Block, and others.

What goes into a solid MCP registry?

By Bill Doerrfeld • March 31, 2026
My latest InfoWorld feature explores what makes an enterprise MCP registry effective, from semantic discovery to governance and security for AI agents.

CISOs shift from perimeter security to API security

By Bill Doerrfeld • March 30, 2026
My first-ever contribution to CSO Online looks at the shifting landscape, from perimeter-based security to API security, and how CISOs are responding.

Fixing the AI slop problem in open source

By Bill Doerrfeld • March 29, 2026
My latest feature for The New Stack looks into solutions being proposed to fix open source Slopmageddon.
A digital pattern of rounded rectangular blocks in shades of blue and purple, arranged in an interlocking layout.

Agentic AI is reshaping platform engineering at Squarespace

By Bill Doerrfeld • March 27, 2026
My latest DirectorPlus looks at how agentic AI is reshaping platform engineering at Squarespace: less shared code and more developer experience focus.

5 impressive API monetization models

By Bill Doerrfeld • March 19, 2026
Usage-based pricing is reshaping the API economy. Discover 5 API monetization success stories, including OpenAI, Plaid, and AssemblyAI.