- Microservices advocate creating a system from small, isolated services that each own their data and are independently scalable and resilient. They are inspired by biological cells that are small, single-purpose, and work together through messaging. - The system is divided using a divide and conquer approach, decomposing it into discrete subsystems that communicate over well-defined protocols. Each microservice focuses on a single business capability and owns its own data and behavior. - Microservices communicate asynchronously through APIs and events to maintain independence and isolation, which enables continuous delivery, failure resilience, and independent scaling of each service.