Diving into the Future: Essential Insights on Serverless Platforms

In the dynamic landscape of modern technology, serverless computing has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping the way applications are developed and deployed. As of 2022, the serverless apps market has witnessed impressive growth, with a total estimated revenue around 9000 Million USD. However, this is just the beginning of a remarkable trajectory, as projections indicate a staggering surge in the coming decade.

So what does Serverless mean?

Simply, it’s a cloud computing technique where the cloud provider dynamically manage the resources that we need for our applications. Two distinctive features of serverless encompass the fact that the application operates within an isolated environment driven solely by events, and its pricing model is based on usage or invocations.

Unraveling the Myth: Is it Truly Without Servers?

When we talk about “Serverless,” it doesn’t imply the absence of servers in the backend. In reality, servers are essential for running the application; however, the term “Serverless” introduces a level of abstraction or illusion for developers. The key concept is that the burden of resource management is entirely shouldered by the cloud service provider. This allows developers to focus solely on the business logic without being concerned about the intricacies of resource provisioning.

Function-as-a-Service (FaaS)

Serverless, alternatively termed Function-as-a-Service (FaaS), is a cloud service offering by providers that enables users to exclusively focus on code creation. Referred to as functions, developers can directly write their logic and easily deploy it with some resource configurations. When triggered, these functions are invoked, prompting the service provider to allocate resources/environment for their execution, after which they are terminated after a certain duration.

Here are several cloud service providers that offer FaaS:

1. AWS Lambda (Amazon Web Services)
2. Azure Functions (Microsoft)
3. Google Cloud Functions (Google)
4. Catalyst Functions (Zoho)

Advantages:

1. Easy to develop an application hence developers can solely focus on the business logic.
2. Cost effective — Pay as you go model (Pay only for the usage/invocations and not more than that).
3. Easy maintenance of the application — User doesn’t need to worry about the security or infrastructure maintenance as the service provider is taking care of it.
4. Scalability and Elasticity — Users are absolved of concerns regarding scalability and elasticity, as these responsibilities rest entirely on the shoulders of the service provider.

Limitations:

1. More dependent on the provider hence there is a limited access to the internal architecture.
2. Latency in the first request of your function, termed as ‘Cold Start,’ can be a challenge. When your function is invoked for the first time, the platform must initialize internal resources to establish an environment for its execution. Also, the platform will release these resources if there are no requests to your function for a specific duration. Mitigating the effects of the cold start can be achieved by implementing a health check function. This function ensures the continual activity of your function by sending periodic requests, preventing it from entering an inactive state.
3. Transitioning from one provider to another poses a significant challenge. If dissatisfied with the current provider, the process of switching to an alternative one demands time and effort. This is attributed to the need to familiarize oneself with the new provider’s execution methods, and there might be instances where code adjustments are necessary, such as adopting new software development kits (SDKs).

Is Opting for Serverless Always the Best Choice?

No, the decision between serverless and servered applications depends on the nature of the specific application. For instance, if your application requires continuous availability 24/7, a servered environment might be more suitable. On the other hand, for applications with sporadic usage, microservices, or event-driven tasks, opting for a serverless approach could be more advantageous.

Bottomline :

Serverless architecture offers a plenty of advantages, bringing excitement to the world of application development. Despite its numerous benefits, it is essential to acknowledge its limitations. Serverless can be a viable solution for diverse challenges, but the decision to adopt it hinges on the specific nature of the application and the business requirements at hand. Serverless introduces a new paradigm for developing and deploying applications, providing an alternative pathway that developers can explore.