Spring Cloud is not strictly necessary for microservices, but it offers valuable tools and features that simplify the development, deployment, and management of microservices architectures. It provides essential components for common microservices challenges, such as service discovery, load balancing, configuration management, and monitoring. While it's possible to build microservices without Spring Cloud, leveraging its capabilities can significantly enhance the efficiency, resilience, and scalability of your microservices ecosystem, making it a preferred choice for many developers and organizations seeking streamlined and effective microservices implementation.