I recently worked on a project that, at first, seemed like “just another integration middleware.” It had to move orders between ERP systems and resellers and sync events both ways.
But by the time we finished the MVP, I realized I had unknowingly touched almost every layer of a modern distributed system — and learned way more than I expected.
Coming from a startup background, I was always focused on getting things done - fast. Shipping features mattered more than following patterns or principles. I’d often write duplicate code, skip abstractions, and prioritize delivery over design. And honestly, it worked. We moved fast, broke things, fixed them quickly, and kept the business going.
But moving to an MNC was a cultural shift.
Here, the process is as important as the outcome. That slowed me down - in a good way. For the first time, I was writing code that was part of a larger architectural vision. Things like CQRS, retries, circuit breakers, exponential backoff, event grids - it wasn’t about using buzzwords. It was about building something that could handle failure, scale up, and still be easy to debug.
Deadlines were still tight. But we built things right.
When I stepped back after the MVP and looked at what we’d built, I saw a clean, resilient, well-structured system - something I wouldn’t have built a year ago.
I’m still learning this side of software - the thoughtful, scalable way of building systems. But I’m starting to see why people call it architecture and not just “code.”
And to be honest, it’s kind of exciting.
