[PaulHoule]

My take personally is that the core Spring Framework is first rate but all the other modules associated with it ("Spring Data", "Spring Cloud", ...) are lackluster in quality -- most of them add some mistakes and leave out some features I think are critical. Nothing stops you from using Spring to make the objects your app needs directly, so that's what I do.

I think many shops use Google Guice now. Spring fits my thinking better (I think static Java that is checked into version control plus a dynamic XML configuration file that is not is a great combo) but "when in Rome do as the Romans do" is the way of the world. I've learned how to get the results I need from Guice.

Unless there is some major showstopper (like the system is outright broken, a terrible mismatch for the domain, drives you crazy all the time when you understand the tools and the domain completely) I would always recommend going with the team on that kind of structural thing.