Next.js at Scale: The Hidden Challenges of Enterprise Adoption

Next.js started as the easiest way to build React apps. But once you cross into enterprise scale — millions of users, regional deployments, complex caching, and security constraints — things get… complicated.

In this episode of The Node (& More) Banter, Luca Maraschi & Matteo Collina dive deep into the real challenges of running Next.js in enterprise environments — and what it actually takes to make it fast, reliable, and maintainable when “just deploy it” doesn’t cut it anymore.

We'll cover:

✅ The hidden complexity of distributed rendering and Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), and the new use cache directive in Next.js 16

✅ Why cold starts and unpredictable latencies still plague large Next.js apps

✅ How to regain control of caching, routing, and observability when platforms abstract them away

✅ What’s changing with Next.js 16’s runtime flexibility — and how to self-host effectively

✅ Strategies for balancing developer experience with performance and compliance

✅ How Watt Runtime helps large teams bring back control — without losing simplicity

The takeaway?

Next.js is powerful — but not magical. Running it in enterprise requires the same rigor as any large-scale distributed system.