A monolithic application is a software design where all components are combined into a single, unified program. This means that the user interface, business logic, and database management are all tightly integrated. Because everything is packaged together, deploying updates or changes can be challenging, as even a small modification may require the entire application to be redeployed. Despite its simplicity, a monolithic architecture can lead to issues as the application grows. For instance, scaling the application to handle more users may require significant resources, and any bugs in one part can affect the entire system. This is why many developers are now exploring alternatives like microservices, which break applications into smaller, independent components.