WHAT IS: Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is changing the game for developers by eliminating the need to manage servers. Instead of worrying about provisioning, scaling, and maintenance, you can simply focus on writing and deploying your code while the platform automatically handles the rest.

This approach is gaining massive traction, with the serverless computing market expected to grow from $21.9 billion in 2024 to $44.7 billion by 2029, driven by a strong annual growth rate of 15.3%, as per reports. So, what exactly is serverless computing, and why is it becoming such a key part of modern application development? Let’s break it down.

What is Serverless Computing?

Serverless computing is a cloud model where developers can build and run apps without worrying about managing servers. The cloud provider takes care of everything—like security, updates, and capacity—leaving developers to focus on writing code. With serverless, you can use its pay-as-you-go pricing model, making it a cost-effective way to build and scale applications without the hassle of back-end management. The goal is to make coding for the cloud easier and more efficient.

How Serverless Computing Works

With serverless computing, developers don’t need to manage or configure servers. Instead, they just write and upload code to a cloud platform, where it runs automatically without worrying about the infrastructure. The best part? You only pay for the resources you actually use.

In a traditional setup, developers would have to set up servers, install operating systems, and keep everything updated. But with serverless computing, developers simply write a function (a small task triggered by an event, like auto-responding to an email) and upload it to the cloud. The cloud provider handles everything else, including scaling the function to handle more users. The function is accessed through an API, which lets multiple instances run simultaneously, adjusting based on demand.

Why is Serverless Computing Important?

Serverless computing is a game-changer for digital transformation. It lets developers focus on writing and deploying code without worrying about managing infrastructure. This helps boost productivity and reduces overhead, especially for startups and small businesses that can’t afford to maintain physical servers.

With serverless, companies only pay for what they use and can choose the services that fit their needs. It also takes care of security, compliance, autoscaling, and server management, allowing teams to focus on building better apps instead of maintaining the tech behind them.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Serverless Computing

Serverless computing has plenty of benefits, like:

• Cost savings: You only pay when your code runs, not for idle servers.
• Quick deployment: Apps can be deployed in hours, not weeks.
• Autoscaling: Resources automatically scale up or down as needed.
• More productivity: Developers focus on writing apps, not managing servers.

But, there are some downsides:

• Vendor lock-in: Switching providers can be tough due to differences in how services are delivered.
• Long tasks: Long-running processes might cost more than using dedicated servers.
• Latency: There’s a slight delay when a function runs for the first time (known as "cold start").
• Debugging challenges: It can be hard to track down issues because serverless instances create new versions each time.

Use cases of Serverless Computing

Serverless computing has a variety of use cases, including:

• Event-triggered computing: Automatically process files like videos or images uploaded from devices such as phones and PCs.
• IoT data processing: Handle and analyze data from IoT devices, triggering actions as needed.
• Back-end for apps or websites: Serverless functions can retrieve data from user databases and send it back to the front-end.
• High-volume tasks: Ideal for tasks like data processing, storage, and moving metrics to analytics services.
• Microservices support: Serverless is great for microservices, offering scaling, rapid provisioning, and cost-efficiency.
• Building RESTful APIs: Easily build APIs that scale on demand.
• Video/image manipulation: Resize or transcode videos and images on the fly.
• Multilanguage apps: Serverless supports multiple programming languages, so developers can use what they're comfortable with.
• Continuous integration/delivery: Automate testing and deployment workflows, speeding up bug fixes and updates.

Serverless Computing vendors and languages

Here’s a quick rundown of major serverless computing vendors and the languages they support:

• Alibaba Cloud Function Compute: Launched in 2017, it supports Node.js, Python, Java, PHP, and C#.
• AWS Lambda: Introduced in 2014, it supports Java, Go, PowerShell, Node.js, JavaScript, C#, Python, and Ruby.
• Google Cloud Functions: Released in 2017, it works with Node.js, JavaScript, Python, Go, PHP, .NET, and Ruby, and has no function execution time limits.
• IBM Cloud Functions: Based on Apache OpenWhisk, it supports JavaScript (Node.js), Swift, Python, Ruby, PHP, .NET, and more.
• Microsoft Azure Functions: Rolled out in 2016, it supports C#, Java, JavaScript (Node.js), PowerShell, Python, and TypeScript.
• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Functions: Launched in 2019, it integrates with Oracle services and supports Java, Python, Node.js, Go, Ruby, and C#. Developers can also use Dockerfiles and GraalVM for advanced cases.

Best Practices for Securing Serverless Applications

To reduce security risks in serverless environments, consider these best practices:

• Use APIs: APIs add an extra layer of security by controlling data flow and protecting backend applications from cyberattacks.
• Optimize security: Apply encryption and multi-factor authentication across your app resources, especially since serverless apps often include multiple microservices.
• Set permissions: Grant users only the necessary permissions to limit potential damage—this is called the "principle of least privilege."
• Monitor and log activity: Keep track of user activity to spot issues and block suspicious actions early.
• Limit access with VPCs: Virtual private clouds (VPCs) can be secured with firewalls to further protect your resources.

The Future of Serverless Computing

Serverless computing is expected to grow significantly, with the market projected to expand over 23% from 2025 to 2030, according to a Mordor Intelligence report. Key trends to watch include:

• Increased competition: Cloud providers will keep offering more serverless services to stay competitive.
• Serverless at the edge: Edge computing and machine learning will continue integrating serverless to bring processing closer to data sources.
• Serverless containers: More businesses will use serverless containers to customize and manage apps, while providers handle the infrastructure.

Conclusion

Serverless computing is revolutionizing how developers build and deploy applications by removing the need to manage infrastructure.

It offers cost savings, scalability, and flexibility, allowing businesses of all sizes to focus on writing code rather than handling servers. While it brings significant benefits, such as reduced overhead and increased productivity, it also requires careful attention to security and potential vendor lock-in. As serverless technology continues to evolve, it will play a crucial role in shaping the future of cloud computing and application development.