---
title: "Workflows vs Services: Why, When, and How"
canonical: "https://temporal.io/resources/on-demand/workflows-vs-services-why-when-and-how.md"
source: "https://temporal.io/resources/on-demand/workflows-vs-services-why-when-and-how"
resource_type: "Replay 2023"
published: "2024-10-09"
---

# Workflows vs Services: Why, When, and How

[Watch the video](https://www.youtube.com/embed/1jtMc6C-_-U)

Good technologists know that the rise of a new solution rarely means the complete obsolescence of previous tools. Workflow Engines represent a powerful new way to build software, but we need to acknowledge that “traditional” service-oriented design still has its place. 

In my years building on top of the workflow engine at Better.com I became a fervent advocate for the use of workflows, but I still saw many cases where a simple service was a better solution to the problem at hand. Over time, I developed a collection of mental “tests” to help me determine where implementing a service might be better than building a workflow. In this talk we will cover:

- __Why we use Workflows:__ What great problems and use-cases for workflows look like, vs use-cases better-suited to a traditional service.
- __How to build Workflows:__ Best practices on how to optimize implementation time, architecture, and quality for your workflows.
- __When Workflows will go mainstream:__ Why the business opportunities of the next decade are uniquely suited to workflow-oriented development compared to the last decade.

## Related resources

- [Logixboard: Finding order in the event-driven chaos with Temporal](https://temporal.io/resources/on-demand/finding-order-in-the-event-driven-chaos-with-temporal.md) — Replay 2023
- [Instacart: How Workflows are empowering our platforms](https://temporal.io/resources/on-demand/temporal-at-instacart-how-workflows-are-empowering-our-platforms.md) — Replay 2023
- [What's cloud got to do with it? A novel persistence layer for Temporal Cloud](https://temporal.io/resources/on-demand/whats-cloud-got-to-do-with-it-a-novel-persistence-layer-for-temporal-cloud.md) — Replay 2023