Digital Government Productivity & Transformation

What Is a Tech Stack? Guide, Examples & How It Powers Digital Services

4 December 2025

Discover the core components of modern stacks, the critical factors influencing selection, and how the Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS) enables GovTech to deliver secure, reliable, and citizen-centric services faster, accelerating Singapore's Smart Nation vision.

Image depiction of a Tech Stack: different technologies working together

From mobile banking to food delivery apps, every digital service relies on a “tech stack” — a set of technologies that work together behind the scenes to build, run, and scale an application.
Understanding how these components fit together can help teams make informed decisions when developing new services, especially as applications grow more complex.

In Singapore’s public sector, GovTech also uses a specialised version of this: the Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS), which provides agencies with ready-to-use tools to build secure, reliable digital services faster.

So, what is a technology stack?

In today’s digitalised world, you interact with applications built on different tech stacks every day — from social media platforms to banking apps. While the technology behind these services may seem invisible, it’s essential to how they function seamlessly. A tech stack is the foundation that makes it all possible.

A tech stack (or technology stack) is the combination of software tools, programming languages, frameworks, and infrastructure used to build and run an application. This includes everything from what you see on the screen to the systems running in the background — such as servers, databases, and APIs.

Think of it as a recipe: every ingredient (technology) works together to create the final dish, and changing even one component can affect performance, scalability, security, or cost of the entire system.

Choosing the right stack is a critical decision for businesses and development teams, as it influences how quickly applications are built, how well they scale, and how much they cost to maintain over time. To help public agencies streamline their projects and align with the Smart Nation vision, GovTech has developed the Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS), a centralised platform with ready-to-use tools that enable faster, more secure digital services.

Key components of a modern tech stack

While every application is different, most modern tech stacks share several core layers:

1. Frontend (client-side) The frontend is everything users interact with directly — buttons, navigation, visuals, animations, and layouts. This component is responsible for the look and feel of the application.
Common technologies include:	HTML CSS JavaScript Frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue
2. Backend (server-side) The backend is the engine that powers the application. It handles the logic, processes data, manages user requests, and interacts with databases.
Examples include:	Node.js Django Ruby on Rails Java .NET
3. Database The Database stores, organises, and manages the data an application needs to function. A database ensures that information is stored securely and retrieved efficiently.
Two popular categories are:	SQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) — used for structured, relational data NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Firebase) — used for flexible, document-based data
4. DevOps and infrastructure This layer includes cloud providers, deployment pipelines, monitoring tools, and automation platforms. These tools ensure that the application is deployed reliably, scaled as needed, and maintained efficiently.
Examples include:	Amazon Web Services (AWS) Microsoft Azure Google Cloud Platform
5. APIs and integration APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) enable different services and applications to communicate with one another. For example, logging in with Singpass, embedding maps, or processing payments.

Why choosing the right tech stack matters

The technologies you choose at the start of a project can influence long-term performance, scalability, cost, and security. Some key considerations include:

Development speed and time-to-market
Stacks with mature frameworks and strong community support help teams build and test features quickly.

Scalability
Some stacks are better suited for applications that need to grow rapidly. Choosing a scalable stack helps prevent bottlenecks as your user base or data volume increases.

Cost and maintainability
Open-source technologies can reduce licensing fees, while well-documented frameworks lower long-term costs of maintenance overhead.

Security and stability
A stack with strong community support and regular updates is better equipped to mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure stability of the application.

Team expertise
Selecting technologies your team already knows reduces onboarding time and avoids unnecessary complexity.

How to choose the right tech stack

When selecting a tech stack, development teams typically evaluate several factors:

Project size and functionality	Assess simple applications versus enterprise-scale systems, as they have different needs.
Scalability needs	Consider the expected user load and/or potential data growth
Team experience	Choose technologies that align with your team’s existing skills and knowledge
Time-to-market	Evaluate how quickly features need to be released
Security requirements	Ensure the tech stack meets security needs, especially important for applications handling sensitive data
Maintenance expectations	Consider long-term updates, support, and sustainability
Budget	Factor in costs for licensing, cloud usage, and talent acquisition

The “right” tech stack is ultimately the one that aligns with the project’s goals, resources, and constraints.

Popular tech stacks for software development

Full-Stack JavaScript: MERN/MEAN/MEVN

These stacks use JavaScript across the entire application — from database to frontend — which can improve consistency and boost developer productivity.

Python-based stacks (Django/Flask)

Python is known for clean syntax and an extensive ecosystem, making it a strong choice for web applications, automation, and data-driven projects.

LAMP stack

One of the earliest and most widely used stacks (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP). It is still popular for content-heavy websites due to its simplicity and reliability.

How to build a robust tech stack: A step-by-step process

1. Define your goals
Identify the purpose, scale, and required functionality of your application.

2. Select core technologies
Choose front-end and back-end tools that match project and team needs.

3. Choose databases and infrastructure
Match your data patterns to the right type of database and cloud environment.

4. Consider long-term maintenance
Select tools with strong community support and regular security updates.

5. Review growth plans
Ensure the tech stack can scale to support future versions of your application.

Common mistakes to avoid when building a tech stack

Picking technologies based solely on trends can lead to compatibility and maintenance issues
Overlooking team capability can result in unnecessary complexity and delays
Not planning for long-term maintenance can increase future costs
Choosing tools that do not scale well can lead to bottlenecks as your application grows
Underestimating security needs can expose your application to vulnerabilities

Avoiding these pitfalls helps ensure applications remain stable, secure, and future-ready. Agencies can also tap on SG Tech Stack products — secure solutions and shared infrastructure that make building digital services faster and easier.

Tech stacks in the public sector: How SGTS accelerates development

The Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS) provides agencies with secure, pre-approved tools, infrastructure, and reusable components to streamline development. Its goal is to help teams build digital services more quickly and safely, without having to start from scratch each time.

Today, more than 40 agencies use SGTS, with hundreds of cloud-based systems running on its components.

Examples of SGTS in action

Singpass / Myinfo enhancements
SGTS tools helped shorten development time for selected features — for example, reducing one launch cycle from around 12 months to four months.
GatherSG
A composable customer relationship management and case management tech stack designed for public agencies whose needs are underserved by Commercial-off-the-shelves (COTS) products and Software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings. Specifically, these are agency use cases which either require a high degree of customisation, or are simple but have a large user base, both of which are incompatible with using COTS / SaaS to achieve the most suitable, cost-effective solution.

By standardising foundational components, SGTS helps agencies deliver secure and reliable digital services aligned with Smart Nation goals.

What comes after building a tech stack?

After deployment, it is essential to iterate and optimise as development progresses.
Teams regularly:

Conduct performance and stress testing
Patch vulnerabilities
Update components for compatibility
Optimise for speed, cost, and security

This continuous improvement ensures applications remain resilient and future-proof. To learn more about Singapore’s digital infrastructure — including SGTS — you can explore episodes of the GovTech Decoded series.

Pioneering the Next Chapter of Smart Nation

The strategic adoption of the Singapore Government Tech Stack (SGTS) is not merely a collection of tools; it is a foundational policy implemented by GovTech to ensure consistency, security, and velocity in our national digital services. By providing public officers with secure, streamlined, and scalable platforms like SGTS, GovTech enables agencies to shift their focus from building infrastructure to delivering exceptional, citizen-centric experiences, thereby accelerating the realisation of the Smart Nation vision and maintaining Singapore’s position as a leader in digital government.