State machines, or finite state machines (FSMs), are a programming model used to manage a system’s behavior by defining explicit states and transitions. They’re particularly useful in event-driven architectures where systems must respond to external stimuli. However, as complexity grows, state machines become harder to build, test, and maintain—often leading to fragile implementations.

Temporal offers a powerful alternative. Designed for orchestrating complex business workflows, Temporal manages state, retries, and long-running tasks automatically. This removes much of the operational burden that comes with traditional state machines, enabling developers to focus on business logic rather than failure handling or intricate transitions.

In this whitepaper, you’ll learn what state machines are, where they struggle, and how Temporal provides a simpler, more durable solution. You’ll also discover how teams using Temporal achieve higher reliability, better observability, and faster development cycles by offloading complexity to a platform purpose-built for modern, scalable workflow orchestration.