The Role of Microservices in the Internet of Things: Applications, Challenges, and Research Opportunities

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly growing field, encompassing various devices and sensors that produce enormous quantities of data. On the other hand, microservices architecture has emerged as a popular solution for developing complex software applications on a large scale. Combining these two technologies has the potential to revolutionize the creation of powerful and scalable IoT applications. By leveraging the benefits of microservices, such as modularity and decoupling, developers can design more flexible, scalable, and resilient IoT systems. In this paper, we present a thorough analysis of the state-of-the-art research regarding the use of microservices in the development of IoT systems. We summarize thirty selected studies and discuss their contributions to the field. Additionally, this paper offers valuable insights into the use of microservices in IoT applications, which can inform the design and development of future IoT systems. Finally, we outline and explain the future research opportunities that the microservices paradigm can offer in the context of the IoT.