Thin backend for rich clients

Unlike web applications, rich clients need to be deployed as monoliths. Any change in the Microservices would require a fresh deployment of the client application. Unlike web applications where each Microservice consists of a user interface, it is not the case for mobile or desktop applications. Moreover, structuring the teams in a manner that each team has a frontend developer for each rich client that the application can be deployed to is not feasible.

A way in which this dependency can be minimized is by having a backend for the rich client applications which is deployed with the application:

Although this approach is not perfect, it does ensure that part of the system conforms to Microservices architecture. Care should be taken to not alter any Microservice to encapsulate the business logic of the rich client. The mobile and desktop clients should optimize content delivery as per their needs.