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Stop Shakespearizing Sep 16, 2022 Using GNU Make with JavaScript and Node.js to build AWS Lambda functions Sep 4, 2022 Monolithic repository vs a monolith Aug 23, 2022 TypeScript is a productivity problem in and of itself Apr 20, 2022 Node.js and Lambda deployment size restrictions Mar 1, 2021 What programming language to use for a brand new project? Feb 18, 2020 The religion of JavaScript Nov 26, 2018 Let’s talk cloud neutrality Sep 17, 2018 TypeScript starts where JavaScript leaves off Aug 2, 2017 Node.js is a perfect enterprise application platform Jul 30, 2017 Design patterns in TypeScript: Chain of Responsibility Jul 22, 2017 Singletons in TypeScript Jul 16, 2017 Collaborative work in the cloud: what I learned teaching my daughter how to code Dec 10, 2016 JavaScript as the language of the cloud Feb 20, 2016 Operations costs are the Achille's heel of NoSQL Nov 23, 2015 Ten Questions to Consider Before Choosing Cassandra Aug 8, 2015 The Three Myths About JavaScript Simplicity Jul 10, 2015 Big Data is not all about Hadoop May 30, 2015 Smart IT Departments Own Their Business API and Take Ownership of Data Governance May 13, 2015 We Need a Cloud Version of Cassandra May 7, 2015 Apple is (or was) the Biggest User of Apache Cassandra Apr 23, 2015 Building a Supercomputer in AWS: Is it even worth it ? Apr 13, 2015 Ordered Sets and Logs in Cassandra vs SQL Apr 8, 2015 Where AWS Elastic BeanStalk Could be Better Mar 3, 2015 Trying to Replace Cassandra with DynamoDB ? Not so fast Feb 2, 2015 Why I am Tempted to Replace Cassandra With DynamoDB Nov 13, 2014 Cassandra: Lessons Learned Jun 6, 2014 Best way to start writing an XSLT Jun 25, 2006

Node.js is a perfect enterprise application platform

July 30, 2017

In a July 2017 article, Node.js Foundation surveyed developers around the world asking them how they use Node.js. As it turns out, Node.js is taking over the world of business applications and the enterprise by storm and is rapidly supplanting platforms like Java which has to do with a few factors.



JavaScript



Node.js is a JavaScript platform. JavaScript is a simple language that in and of itself is easy to learn. JavaScript opens up an opportunity for people with no formal computer science education to become productive as coders in a relatively short period.



API Mashups



Humanity tends to invent tools and build platforms on which we then make more complex tools and platforms. Consider the evolution of an enterprise developer.



Back when dinosaurs roamed the data centers, enterprise developers were writing financial systems in assembler. Over time, languages like PL/I and COBOL have invented that improved developer productivity. Eventually, we got Java, C++, C#, etc.



By now, enterprises built out API ecosystems supporting critical business processes. Add to the mix cloud APIs, and now we can rapidly develop new applications as API mashups.



As it turns out, JavaScript and Node.js form a fantastic API mashup platform.



Node.js performance



Node.js does not outperform Java at CPU and memory intensive tasks and probably never will. That is not where it shines, however.



Where it does outperform Java, however, is in IO-intensive use cases. For networked API-driven applications that are a yet another point in favor of Node.js as an API mashup platform.



Increased developer productivity



I remember the days when to build out a Java-based web server one had to get an application server like Tomcat, JBoss, WebLogic, or WebSphere. Those are expensive resource hogs.



As a Java engineer I’ve long advocated the approach of bypassing JEE application servers altogether. In Java, that is not trivial.



In Node.js, however, setting up an application server involves a handful lines of JavaScript code. Consider a simple “hello world” application server built using Node.js and express framework and compare it to doing this same using JBoss. Who wants to go through all that pain in Java, when in JavaScript all that is needed to get started is a few lines of code?



The perfect storm



The net result is that as new coders join the Node.js bandwagon because of JavaScript, the old school engineers coming from Java and other such platforms recognize the increased productivity features of Node.js. These two formidable forces combine to create the perfect storm. Enterprises are realizing that, and they are adopting Node.js as the platform for all new applications.

Last updated January 20, 2026. Return to home.