Modern computers aren't powerful enough to negate the need for distributed systems. While many workloads can fit on a single powerful machine, distributed systems still offer advantages like improved availability, durability, and isolation. Single-machine systems may seem simpler, but coordination issues start to arise in larger organizations.

There are significant changes happening with distributed systems. These changes will influence how systems are operated and how they are programmed. This article shares insights into the changes in transactional and analytical systems, especially around object storage and programming models. There are many possible disruptive technologies, so it is challenging to pick the winners and losers.

Frequent failures and partial failures are inherent in distributed systems, requiring more robust design and the ability to take on increased costs. In distributed systems, careful coordination requires the help of data locality and partial availability.