Rust has acquired a modern, promising, and not-for-everyone vibe due to its unsurpassed performance and memory safety. Developers love it despite the learning curve, and enterprises are following suit.
Beyond the hype, Rust promises to address the legacy bottlenecks that enterprises face, including escalating infrastructure costs, rising security incidents, and the performance limitations of existing stacks (C/C++, Go, Python).
But Rust isn’t easy to learn, maintain, and sustain. AWS Engineer, Russell Cohen, at the recent 2025 Rust Conference, said that to migrate to it or develop in it from scratch, you should have a genuine reason (or an actual problem). It’s a powerful language, but it needs the right environment, the right people, and proper maintenance.
So, how can enterprises modernize core systems with Rust to be faster, safer, and more cost-efficient?
Our in-depth guide will help you understand how Rust’s technical benefits translate to business success and how to effectively implement it across various industries, taking into account the associated challenges.
We’ll also define the recipe for success when developing in this language based on the results that major tech giants have already achieved.
Rust popularity: Adoption statistics and trends among enterprises
Rust is no longer a niche experiment. What started as a favorite language among systems programmers has now become mainstream among enterprises. Survey data indicate that 53% of developers use Rust on a daily basis, and 45% of enterprises are increasingly relying on it to run production workloads.
Increased adoption strengthens the language ecosystem, making it more adaptable to different industry-specific use cases. Particularly, when tech giants such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft continually contribute to Rust’s evolution, trust in this language increases, as does its maturity.
Each company that adopts the language paves the way for broader enterprise confidence, accelerates tooling improvements, and lowers the barriers for the next wave of organizations considering migration.
How Rust’s technical excellence translates into enterprise benefits
The decision to migrate to Rust or develop in this language from scratch often ties to performance capabilities and safe memory management. But what do these advantages of Rust mean for a business?
Reduced operational overhead through increased performance
This language boasts exceptional performance, surpassing many other languages, including Python, Golang, C, and C++, across numerous benchmarks. In this example of implementing Rust in a real-world backend system, it outperformed Python by 2.4 times.
Comprehensive input/output (I/O) benchmarking reveals its superior characteristics:
- Throughput. It provides 70-80% of native Nginx performance, matching C/C++ and Go
- Latency variance. Significantly lower than Go, Java, and Python at the tail percentiles
- Resource efficiency. It maintains stable performance under 25,000 RPS on two cores (Java 15,000 RPS and Python 10,000 RPS)
Rust performance is consistently fast and dependable, even when real-world systems are under pressure. This predictability helps enterprises avoid reactive and costly over-provisioning. Rust is also an incredibly energy-efficient language and can help not only reduce CPU bill but also lower energy consumption by almost 50%.
By ensuring high performance and low CPU usage, this language allows organizations to deliver low-latency services while reducing infrastructure costs.
Additionally, the high efficiency of the language can increase developer productivity, as Rust lacks a garbage collector (GC), resulting in fewer system idle pauses.
Stronger security posture with memory safety
Another famous Rust feature is memory safety. It helps eliminate such common issues as:
- Null pointer dereferences
- Buffer overflows and overreads
- Use-after-free errors
- Data races in concurrent code
- Double-free vulnerabilities
High system performance equivalent to C and C++ and increased security with fewer memory safety bugs, make the language alluring to many organizations. The Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) is rewriting a TLS library from C to Rust. The nonprofit organization plans to switch the Internet’s sensitive software infrastructure to a codebase written in a memory-safe language, such as Rust.
These massive initiatives prove the reliability of the language. For enterprises, this means fewer security incidents and lower costs associated with incident response and patching.
Long-term system maintainability via concurrency and parallelism
Rust’s “fearless concurrency” model enables developers to write safe, parallel code without the constraints of Python’s Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) or the complexity of manual memory management in C/C++. Its concurrency is fearless, as it allows developers to combine both the async/await model and multithreading, increasing complexity but also the level of control and performance.
Multithreading. The Rust language provides ownership and borrowing rules, which simplify the management of concurrent code during multithreading. At first, these rules may seem complex to grasp, but with sufficient practice, they allow developers to safely manage data shared between threads. For CPU-intensive workloads, such as risk modeling, real-time analytics, or AI model training, efficient multithreading can help businesses maximize hardware ROI.
Async/await model. In I/O-bound tasks (web servers, API gateways, and databases), Rust’s async/await model would be suitable. With the zero-cost abstraction feature, Rust code has no hidden performance overhead. You increase performance without runtime cost. Lazy futures feature, in turn, provides control and helps engineers avoid redundant computations and resource overuse. Asynchronous programming in the language ensures your system responds quickly and can process thousands of simultaneous requests, helping you increase customer satisfaction.
By supporting both multithreading for CPU-bound work and asynchronous operations for I/O-bound workloads (while keeping code safe and maintainable), Rust gives enterprises a way to scale systems confidently without accumulating technical debt.
Six tech giants that migrated to Rust and succeeded
When adopting new technology, big tech companies aren’t chasing hype. They deal with massive legacy stacks, technical debt, and high operational risks, and investment in a new programming language should be justified by its clear business value. Their increased interest in the language indicates its maturity and readiness for enterprise-scale adoption across complex, legacy-heavy environments.
To ensure successful adoption, each company had a clear problem to solve with Rust, understood the language’s potential, and applied it to the systems that would guarantee the maximum ROI.
Dropbox decreases CPU usage by partially integrating Rust in the backend
Python, Golang, and C++ were core languages behind Dropbox’s backend. However, the memory unsafety of C++, the limited concurrency of Python’s GIL, and the performance demands of the Smart Sync feature that Go couldn’t handle encouraged Dropbox to give Rust a try.
Before deciding on it, the Dropbox team tested alternative languages, and Rust excelled at tackling all of their issues:
- Memory safety without a GC helped them eliminate memory bugs
- Zero-cost abstractions allowed for writing high-level code without sacrificing runtime efficiency
- Its ownership and borrowing rules eliminated such common concurrency issues as data races
Dropbox rewrote its critical systems in Rust and left Python for functions that weren’t performance-intensive. This decision helped them ensure a 25% reduction in Smart Sync CPU usage and almost 50% improvement in file indexing latencies.
Meta has been a committed Rust language advocate for over a decade
Meta began its journey with Rust in 2016. They chose it over C++ for Mononoke, a server that accepts thousands of commits per hour across millions of files. Rust could ensure the reliability of the backend system and reduce instances of system downtime. This Rust-powered backend has yielded impressive performance results (2–4 orders of magnitude), enabling successful scaling to date.
As a platinum member of the Rust community, Meta makes significant contributions to its growth while also accelerating language integration across the company infrastructure. For instance, in 2025, they plan on rewriting their mobile messaging server from C to Rust. The legacy code written in C can’t keep up with the company’s scale, and developers struggle to maintain it.
Google embeds Rust in Android OS for security
Memory vulnerabilities in the Android system accounted for over 74% of all security issues in 2019. The best choice for Google was rewriting parts of their operating system in the most memory-safe language available, Rust. In 2024, the frequency of memory issues decreased to 24% and continued to drop.
For Google, adopting it was a long-term strategic decision that, over the years of developer training and iterative implementation, yielded impressive results.
Cloudflare enhances web performance with Rust
Due to security and performance limitations, Cloudflare decided to replace their proxy server, NGINX, with a Rust-based proxy infrastructure, Pingora. Rust enabled low-level optimizations and proved better performance in low-latency environments.
Cloudflare’s infrastructure scaled to 20% of web traffic, and their team needed a solution for managing millions of concurrent connections. After thorough testing, the company opted for a Rust-powered web server and set the new standard for web proxy infrastructure. This decision helped them significantly reduce latency, efficiently handle security risks, and improve scalability even under extreme conditions.
Microsoft entrusts Rust with performance-critical Windows components
To address numerous memory safety issues in Windows, Microsoft chose Rust to rewrite parts of its Windows kernel components. Lack of GC and performance excellence is almost a requirement for modern kernels and drivers.
But Rust is also interoperable with C/C++ and can call into existing Windows APIs. The fact that the language of choice is easily compatible with the current Microsoft stack and can provide strong performance and security gains via gradual implementation proved it to be the best-fit option.
Kernel rewrite in Rust helped Microsoft eliminate existing and prevent potential security vulnerabilities and exposures.
Figma’s strategic move to adopt Rust and sustain scalability
In 2018, the Figma team decided to rewrite their multiplayer server from TypeScript to Rust. The reason was the current server’s inability to support the growing user base. This decision proved highly successful, as Rust remains the core language of the server to this day, allowing Figma to sustain optimal performance and scale efficiently.
Figma chose this language for its speed and low usage of resources, as the language doesn’t have a GC. The TypeScript-based server frequently experienced unexpected latency spikes, which negatively impacted the company’s service quality. As a result of Rust integration, Figma achieved a 10 times faster serialization time even in the worst-case scenarios.
All the above tech companies adopted this language not only for its renowned reputation but also for the potential to reduce infrastructure costs, eliminate security risks, improve scalability, and deliver a measurable ROI. These examples show that Rust is a strategic decision to future-proof business-critical systems.
When to choose Rust
Rust adoption examples we’ve covered in the section above prompt us that it excels in high-performance backend systems with low latency and strict memory safety requirements. Use Rust as the go-to programming language for servers, drivers, kernels, embedded systems, and operating systems that prioritize performance and software security.
Apart from the Rust applications we mentioned, it is also efficient for concurrent applications with complex state management (e.g., web servers) as well as AI inference engines and data processing pipelines. Rust’s memory safety and high level of control over code can enable edge and IoT devices to run AI workloads directly, resulting in enhanced efficiency and safety. Libraries such as RustLearn, Tch-rs, and ndarray streamline the use in AI and machine learning projects.
Consider an alternative language or hybrid use of languages when you need rapid prototyping (e.g., Python could be an excellent choice) or develop a basic create, read, update, delete (CRUD) application. Rust may not be the best option when you’re short on time and budget and need a quick project ramp-up, or your existing codebase is too complex and has security restrictions that prevent code rewriting or migration.
But if you’ve made up your mind to develop with this language or migrate your codebase to it, you should be prepared to tackle the challenges that come along with this choice.
Challenges to consider: Learning curve and adoption barriers
The global pool of experienced Rust engineers remains limited, making hiring and scaling teams a more challenging task. Difficulty in hiring Rust developers stems from the language’s difficulty. In particular, the ownership and borrowing model requires a conceptual shift for developers coming from garbage-collected ecosystems, such as Python, Java, Go, or PHP.
Software engineer at ANIXE switched to Rust from PHP, and here’s what he says about the shift in his mindset:
I switched from being a PHP programmer to a Rust one – the greatest leap I had to overcome was a change in mindset: from a garbage-collecting fire-and-forget language to one which cares where and how you allocate data.
Another barrier is compile-time complexity. Rust’s compiler enforces strict safety guarantees, which often translates into longer initial development cycles as teams wrestle with compiler errors.
Compared to more mature languages like Python and Go, the Rust ecosystem is still relatively limited, and developers may need to create custom components to meet their specific needs.
A well-planned and customized implementation strategy can mitigate these challenges or at least minimize their impact on your business.
How to implement Rust without losing team efficiency: Time-tested strategies at Xenoss
By studying community resources and drawing on Xenoss’ experience of Rust migration and development projects, we’ll share with you implementation strategies that prove efficient in real-life scenarios.
Pilot projects first
Determine what is Rust good for in your business by integrating it in less critical components and evaluating the results in a safe environment. Define the metrics (e.g., development velocity and resource usage) and benchmarks (CPU-intensive tasks, memory-heavy or math-heavy computations) that you’ll use as the evaluation criteria.
If the results are satisfactory and the language proves to be better than your current stack, you can move on to more performance-critical components and evaluate Rust’s efficiency using the same metrics and benchmarks to compare the results.
Incremental and partial Rust adoption
As in the examples of Microsoft and Dropbox, incremental adoption can prove particularly successful when rewriting the whole software is too costly and time-consuming. To justify the migration of each module, Microsoft developed the following decision tree:
They opted for Rust in security-critical components, leaving a huge decade-long C++ codebase untouched. Although the language is well-suited for high-performance applications, using it to rewrite Windows entirely would require a significant amount of time and effort.
You should prioritize modules that would benefit from Rust the most, and then decide which of them will need a complete or partial rewrite. A thorough tradeoff analysis can help you discover how efficient a partial Rust implementation could be for your business. In the Microsoft case, rewriting even one driver could prevent dozens of security issues.
After evaluating the results of partial adoption and gaining enough experience with the language, you can scale its use in your infrastructure.
Setting up language interoperability
One of the best qualities of Rust is its interoperability with other languages such as C++, C, Golang, and Python. However, keep in mind that, for instance, migrating a legacy C++ codebase to Rust can be challenging and costly, requiring dual-language interoperability via foreign function interface (FFI).
In this example of Python to Rust migration, a Python developer recommends minimizing frequent small calls between the languages to prevent potential overhead. Ready solutions like PyO3 help developers efficiently call functions from Python to iteratively introduce Rust while keeping Python interfaces.
Expert Rust programmers can strike a balance between multiple languages in a single software to leverage the strengths of each.
Team training
To make Rust adoption and learning less steep, prioritize developer education and mentorship. Its community provides numerous free educational resources to facilitate its adoption. Even their documentation is written in simple, understandable language, complete with examples and metaphors, to help learners better grasp the meaning of complex concepts, such as ownership and borrowing rules. Here are a few methods that could be helpful to streamline Rust learning:
- Paired programming and code reviews. Encourage experienced in-house programmers or external mentors to work in pairs with developers on the project to exchange experience quickly.
- Develop custom training programs. Instead of hiring experienced developers, you can invest in custom training programs for your in-house engineers who wish to switch to Rust from other programming languages.
- Establish a Rust knowledge base. Document developers’ experience on the projects to share it across teams and quickly onboard newcomers.
Tooling selection
Although the language is considered young and evolving, numerous tools already exist to simplify Rust development and deployment, enabling developers to compose their own custom tooling sets.
Rust’s build manager Cargo, for instance, helps write safe code without boilerplate parts. Tokio, an asynchronous runtime for Rust, enables the prevention of common bugs in network applications and facilitates the development of high-performance and secure embedded systems.
Rust web frameworks such as Actix Web, Axum, Rocket, Loco, and Poem are efficient for large-scale web projects, providing engineers with pre-built libraries and components to streamline development.
Additionally, cloud providers such as AWS and Microsoft actively contribute to the Rust community and offer out-of-the-box software development kits (SDKs) for streamlined cloud deployment.
In 2025, JetBrains introduced RustRover, a new integrated development environment (IDE) for Rust. This IDE integrates seamlessly with the entire ecosystem of the language and incorporates built-in AI features to further enhance development efficiency.
Rust tooling is yet to grow and evolve with the constant support from its sponsors and community.
Community engagement
Following the Meta example, engage with the Rust community and use its vast open-source ecosystem. Rustaceans share their experiences with the language in forums, local meetups, and international events. For instance, the latest RustConf 2025 gathered a large number of language learners, supporters, and experts. They expressed their opinions on how to succeed with Rust based on real-life case studies, such as a healthcare last-mile project.
Tapping into the vast pool of this language knowledge gives enterprises access to proven solutions, reduces trial-and-error in adoption, and shortens development cycles. Active participation also enables organizations to shape the language’s future and attract top Rust talent.
Based on the above Rust adoption strategies, we’ve developed the following Rust success formula:
Real-life results of Rust implementation in the IoT and embedded systems
Tech giants are setting the trend for Rust implementation, but they aren’t the only ones using the language. It’s suitable for applications across enterprises of various sizes and industries, including IoT, financial services, and game development.
Matic Robots manufactures their smart home robots for floor cleaning with Rust. Here are the benefits of this language that they point out:
High performance with limited resources. Instead of rolling out IoT management in the cloud, the team embeds the robots with intelligence that runs directly on their multiple hardware components: sensors, motors, actuators, cameras, microphones, CPUs, AI accelerators, and I/O. Rust enables the Matic team to utilize the robot’s limited computational resources and achieve high performance without incurring the costs associated with GC pauses.
Enhanced security with safety checks and fewer bugs. With Rust, they also achieve high security and privacy, as the Rust compiler prevents any unsafe code from entering production and improves long-term manageability of code.
Increased developer productivity. At Matic, developers feel “fearlessly productive,” as bugs occur so rarely that instead of wasting time on fixing them, developers now have more time to be creative, experiment with the codebase, and expand their programming knowledge.
Eric Seppanen, Rust engineer at Matic Robots, says:
[With Rust], we are able to build things in less time, with less risk, and have more fun doing it.
Rust future outlook and strategic recommendations
As more enterprises adopt Rust for their projects, its ecosystem will become increasingly versatile over time, offering a growing array of tools for streamlined development.
Universities and course providers worldwide are incorporating Rust into their curricula, popularizing the language and expanding its talent pool. For instance, Duke University has joined forces with Coursera to launch a specialized course on mastering the language. A stronger talent base, in turn, will make it easier for enterprises to adopt Rust at scale. And it’s already in the top ten fastest-growing languages.
Rapid advancements in AI and ML also contribute to reducing the Rust learning curve and laying the groundwork for automated development. Hugging Face provides a Tessa-Rust-T1 transformer-based model for generating Rust code. It autonomously creates idiomatic code and can be a compelling solution for automated backend development.
How to approach Rust migration or development?
The most practical path is incremental adoption. Begin with modules where Rust is used for safety or performance, support your teams with targeted training and mentorship, and integrate Rust into your existing build and deployment workflows. Engaging with the open-source ecosystem and the wider community can also accelerate learning and reduce implementation risks.
Rust is a long-term investment in system reliability, security, and efficiency rather than a one-off experiment. The experiences of Microsoft, Meta, and Dropbox demonstrate that starting small and rewriting only the components that deliver the highest impact can create a clear business case and build momentum. Taking the same approach can help your organization turn Rust into a lasting competitive edge.
