This wasn’t just a stroke of luck – it was a textbook example of successful scaling. Best Buy didn’t stop at brainstorming or testing ideas. The company moved through the critical stages of innovation: ideation, incubation, and scaling. While 80% of companies can come up with ideas and test them, only 16% manage to scale them successfully. So, what’s the secret? How did Best Buy manage to make its venture work while others stumble?
The answer lies in a few key decisions that any company looking to scale needs to get right. Avoiding these seven common pitfalls could be the difference between scaling successfully or falling short. Let’s take a closer look.
What is a scalable solution?
Simply put, scalable solutions are systems or platforms that can handle increased demand – more users, more data, more transactions – without losing performance or maintaining a great experience. They evolve with your business, ensuring you won’t be caught off guard as your needs grow.
That being said, scalability it’s a fundamental business necessity for every company. Yet, too many companies fall into the same traps when trying to build these solutions.
7 key pitfalls to avoid when scaling
Building scalable solutions is crucial for long-term success, but it’s easy to fall into common traps that can slow down your growth.
1. Overcomplicating the architecture from the start
You envision massive success, and your gut tells you to build a system that’s capable of handling millions of users or vast amounts of data. But here’s the catch: trying to over-engineer your system from day one can backfire.
When you layer complexity on top of complexity before you’ve even solved the current problem, your solution will likely become bloated and harder to manage. Scalability doesn’t mean anticipating every possible future scenario; it’s about building a flexible, strong foundation that can grow and adapt as you need it to.
Pro tip: Start with the essentials. Focus on building a simple, efficient system that solves today’s problems. Add complexity when the need arises, not before.
2. Ignoring the importance of data management
If you’ve ever faced issues with data scaling, you’ll know how crucial this is. A scalable solution isn’t scalable if its data is a mess. Poorly structured data, inconsistent formats, or inefficient storage methods can cause even the most well-designed systems to collapse as they grow.
A common mistake? Putting off a solid data management strategy until it’s too late. But when your data starts piling up, the lack of a strong foundation can grind everything to a halt.
Pro tip: Design your data architecture with scalability in mind from the beginning. Structure your data well, plan for growth, and ensure your system can handle more sources and types of data without falling apart.
3. Believing low-code can’t scale
Low-code platforms are often dismissed as tools for simple apps or quick prototypes, with critics claiming they crumble under the pressure of large-scale, complex demands.
This misconception leads businesses to overlook low-code as a viable solution for enterprise-level challenges. Worse, it can result in underestimating the potential of the platform, leading to poor implementation practices, lack of governance, or over-reliance on default templates that don’t optimize performance.
The reality is that modern low-code platforms are built for scalability. With the right architecture, thoughtful design, and adherence to best practices, they can handle high transaction volumes, integrate with other enterprise systems, and support long-term growth. In fact, low-code often accelerates scaling by reducing development cycles and allowing for rapid adjustments.[Sd3] [BB4]
Pro tip: Treat low-code with the same strategic rigor as any other development approach. Partnering with experts like Near Partner, who understand the nuances of low-code platforms, can make all the difference.
4. Underestimating the impact of third-party integrations
Third-party tools and services can give your business a huge boost, but relying too heavily on them without considering long-term scalability is a major pitfall. Many companies make the mistake of integrating tools that work fine initially, but start to buckle when the volume increases. Will that payment processor still work when you have 100,000 customers, or are you going to be stuck with performance issues and slowdowns that frustrate both you and your users?
Pro tip: Always check if third-party services can scale along with your needs. Don’t just settle for what works today – look for long-term solutions that can grow with you, and plan for the possibility of having to switch if your needs evolve.
5. Failure to test for scalability early on
Far too often, companies wait until their system is overwhelmed to realize that it can’t handle the growth. By then, it’s too late to fix without significant downtime or a complete overhaul.
Not testing for scalability early means you’re blind to potential bottlenecks, inefficient processes, or weak points in your system that could be disastrous down the line. So, don’t wait for problems to arise – test before you need to scale, not after you’re already knee-deep in a crisis.
Pro tip: Implement performance and stress testing from the very beginning. Simulate real-world scenarios where your system is expected to grow and monitor how it performs. The earlier you identify weak points, the easier it is to fix them.
6. Neglecting to plan for maintenance and support
Once you build a scalable solution, the work doesn’t stop. Maintaining a scalable solution requires constant monitoring, troubleshooting, and fine-tuning. If you forget about this aspect, your system might run smoothly at first but deteriorate quickly under increased load.
Pro tip: Plan for regular monitoring and maintenance. Automate routine tasks, stay ahead of performance issues, and ensure you have the team in place to handle emerging problems as they arise.
7. Scaling too quickly without the right resources
It’s exciting when things start to take off, and the temptation to scale rapidly can be overwhelming. But scaling too quickly without the necessary expertise or infrastructure can cause you to outgrow your own resources, leading to stress, mismanagement, and ultimately a solution that’s not up to par.
Pro Tip: Make sure your infrastructure, team, and processes are ready for growth. Don’t rush into scaling; be sure you’ve got the foundation and support necessary to manage the added complexity.
Building scalable solutions: a step-by-step guide
Here’s a step-by-step approach to building scalable solutions that stand the test of time.Here’s a step-by-step approach to building scalable solutions that stand the test of time.
1. Start with a future-proof data architecture
Your data architecture is the backbone of scalability. A poorly planned structure can create bottlenecks as your data volume grows.
One critical aspect of scalability is ensuring that requests from the Frontend are not lost due to timeouts. Properly allocating resources to handle these requests is essential. An architecture based on Domain-Driven Development (DDD) or microservices can help optimize this allocation by prioritizing the most frequently used services.
Additionally, in the backend, adopting asynchronous communication using protocols such as AMQP is highly recommended to ensure that:
- Each service operates independently, avoiding direct dependencies that could hinder execution.
- Requests between services are stored until they are processed, preventing any loss of data.
What to do: Choose a modular, cloud-native architecture. Use relational databases for structured data and NoSQL for unstructured or highly dynamic data. Implement indexing strategies and partitioning to optimize query performance.
At Near Partner, we have successfully applied these principles in projects like De Grisogono, where we built a scalable solution capable of handling high-performance demands while ensuring reliability and efficiency. By leveraging a well-structured architecture and the right data management strategies, we created a system that meets business needs while remaining resilient under load.
2. Design for integration from the ground up
Scalable solutions rarely exist in isolation. Your system must play well with others, such as CRM software, analytics tools, or third-party APIs.
What to do: Choose APIs and applications with strong documentation, version control, and flexibility for future upgrades. Ensure your integration strategy supports asynchronous communication to prevent bottlenecks.
3. Build secure and scalable access management
As your user base grows, managing access and permissions becomes more complex. Neglect this, and scalability becomes a security nightmare.
What to do: Implement role-based access control (RBAC) and single sign-on (SSO). Use identity providers like Okta or Azure AD for centralizing user authentication.
Considering the Tupperware project, Near Partner implemented the role-based access control (RBAC) model to ensure detailed and efficient access management, allowing users to view information, access menus, and perform actions based on the specific permissions associated with their roles. This also added significant flexibility to how permissions are managed and how responsibilities are assigned to individuals overseeing various processes, optimizing the management of hierarchies within the extensive ecosystem.
4. Optimize your backend infrastructure
One critical aspect of scalability is ensuring that requests from the Frontend are not lost due to timeouts. Properly allocating resources to handle these requests is essential. An architecture based on Domain-Driven Development (DDD) or microservices can help optimize this allocation by prioritizing the most frequently used services.
Additionally, in the backend, adopting asynchronous communication using protocols such as AMQP is highly recommended to ensure that:
- Each service operates independently, avoiding direct dependencies that could hinder execution.
- Requests between services are stored until they are processed, preventing any loss of data.
By implementing these strategies, teams can build resilient and scalable solutions that efficiently handle high loads and maintain system reliability.
What to do: Add load balancers to distribute traffic efficiently and implement auto-scaling on cloud platforms like AWS or Azure.
5. Implement strong governance for low-code development
Low-code platforms can scale if managed well, but without governance, they can become a nightmare of redundant apps and inefficiencies.
What to do: Define coding standards, enforce version control, and monitor platform performance. Train your teams to design for scalability within the low-code framework.
6. Plan for elastic scalability in the cloud
Scalability today almost always involves the cloud. But moving to the cloud without a clear strategy can lead to overprovisioning (wasting resources) or underprovisioning (performance issues).
What to do: Use cloud services with elastic scalability, such as serverless computing or container orchestration. Implement cost management tools to avoid runaway bills.
7. Test, monitor, and iterate
Scalability isn’t a one-time effort; it’s an ongoing process. Systems that scale today might struggle tomorrow as technology evolves and demands change.
What to do: Stress-test your systems regularly, simulate peak loads, and refine based on real-world data. Set up automated alerts for key performance indicators.
Ready to build smart, scalable solutions?
The road to scalable solutions is full of potential pitfalls, but avoiding these seven mistakes will put you on the path to sustainable growth. By focusing on simplicity, maintaining data integrity, ensuring your third-party tools can scale, testing early, planning for ongoing support, and not rushing to scale without the right resources, you’ll be building a system that can evolve with your business.
At Near Partner, we specialize in software development, low-code solutions, and Salesforce consultancy, ensuring that the solutions we build are not only scalable but also practical and future-proof. Reach out today and let us help you build the foundation that can support your business as it grows.
