Service mesh technology has become essential for managing the complexities of modern microservices and cloud-native applications, addressing challenges in service communication, security, and observability through sidecar proxies and a control plane. Organizations considering adopting a service mesh should evaluate their need based on factors like the number of interacting services, diversity in programming languages, and the nature of their cloud-native environment. To implement a service mesh effectively, start with a small-scale deployment at the network edge and gradually incorporate sidecar proxies closer to applications, enabling features like mutual TLS and telemetry collection. Successful deployment in production requires understanding real-world configurations, managing gateways and certificates, and developing debugging skills. While greenfield projects might easily integrate a service mesh, existing services can also be onboarded through strategies like the strangler pattern without rewriting applications. Security remains a key consideration, with best practices involving strong authentication and authorization. Ultimately, adopting a service mesh is about enhancing system architecture and operations, not just implementing new technology.