Serverless computing is a cloud computing prototype where the service provides only the required amount of resources on demand. The main benefit of serverless computing is you are charged for the exact amount of resources as compared with cloud computing where you have to buy bandwidth units and resources are allocated all the time no matter whether in use or not.

The name serverless does not mean that servers are eliminated from the applications. Rather, it refers to the fact that the provider is responsible for managing and maintaining backend services on a used basis.  A company procuring serverless computing resources from a provider has to pay only for the resources that their application uses. Thus, they do not have to reserve and make payment for a fixed amount of bandwidth, because the service is auto-scaling.

Know how serverless computing functions?

Serverless computing depends on functions or to be more specified functions as a service. It is a kind of service model that facilitates the developers to run code in the cloud without requiring them to develop packages or manage infrastructure. Then the applications are broken into specific functions that one can invoke and measure individually.

Advantages of serverless computing

Fully scalable

In serverless architecture vs traditional architecture, one of the major advantages of serverless computing is developers will not have to upload codes to the servers or carry out backend configuration to release a functional version of any application. Administrators also will not have to do upgrades of current servers or add any servers. With automatic scalability, you will not have to think about setting up the underlying infrastructure.

Easy for deployment

The use of serverless computing solutions helps in the rapid deployment of resources as compared to when you use a cloud computing model. Rather than taking weeks or months for deployment, you can do it within a few minutes. The reason behind rapid deployment is that you will not have to take care of the infrastructure.

No requirement of infrastructure

Because developers have to use somebody else’s computer to implement their serverless functions, therefore, is no infrastructure for maintenance.

No management of server or software

Even if serverless computing takes place on servers, developers are not required to deal with the servers.

Fault tolerance

Developers are not liable for the fault tolerance of the serverless architecture. It is the cloud provider that offers the IT infrastructure for computing, storing, networking and databases that automatically allocate the account for every type of failure.

Low cost

The expenses of serverless computing are less than compared to cloud-based services. Developers are charged only for the time of implementation and not using the server unit. With serverless models, customers can avoid the expenses associated with the operation of servers like access authorization, detection of presence, safety, processing of images and other such costs.

No upfront investment

As you will only make payment for running codes, there is no upfront investment required.

Less latency

With serverless computing functions there is less latency for the end users. The serverless functions do not operate from any chosen origin server, and thus there is not only one location in which any end user’s traffic is directed. In such cases, the data centers if all cloud providers are used and the function is executed by the nearest server, thus decreasing the time of response.

Simple backend code

Because the application is not hosted on the origin server, its code can be run from any place.

To implement serverless computing for IT projects, it is important to keep some important tips in mind

10 tips to implement serverless computing for your IT jobs

Properly understand the use case

Before you dive into serverless computing, it is important to know whether it fits well to your project’s requirements. Serverless architecture is best for those applications whose workloads, microservices and event functions are not predictable. It is necessary to evaluate all your project needs and find out if serverless computing can offer the required scalability and cost-effectiveness.

Select the right provider.

Many cloud providers are providing serverless computing services like AWS, Azure functions and Google Cloud functions. Every provider possesses their unique features, ecosystem integrations and pricing models. It is important to make a comparison of those options to find the one that suits best your project needs and current infrastructure.

Design for scalability

One of the main benefits of serverless computing is its capability to scale automatically depending on demand. Make sure that the architecture of your application can manage rapid scaling. Make use of stateless functions, as they can easily scale, design your data storage and get access to patterns for supporting high concurrency.

Optimization of cold start times

In serverless computing cold start latency is challenging, especially for those applications that are time-sensitive. Do optimization of your functions for decreasing cold start time by making use of light frameworks, and maintaining function dependencies. Configure functions with the right memory and implementation environments.

Keep monitoring and managing costs.

Serverless computing can be cost-efficient, but when not managed in the right manner, it gets rapidly escalated. Keep an eye on usage and set up warnings for unpredicted spikes. Make use of cost-management tools offered by the cloud provider for tracking and optimizing costs. Take into consideration the implementation of throttling and rate limitation for controlling costs in association with high usage.

Execute strong server security best practices.

Safety is very important for any IT project. For the implementation of serverless computing, you should focus on safety functions, management permission and making sure there is proper data privacy. Make use of IAM roles and policies for restricting access, encrypting sensitive data, doing regular audits and updating security settings.

Make use of event-based architecture.

Serverless computing thrives well in event-driven architecture. It is vital to design applications in a way that will trigger functions depending on events like HTTP requests, changes in database or message queue updates. This approach facilitates effective and responsive management of several tasks without requiring consistent running servers.

Use tools for logging and supervising.

Efficient logging and monitoring are important for the maintenance and debugging of serverless applications. Make use of built-in tools such as AWS CloudWatch Azure Monitor, or Google Stackdriver for keeping track of function implementations, performance metrics and error logs. Set up alerts and dashboards for managing proactively and troubleshooting all your applications.

Ensure mitigation of vendor lock-in.

While you get several advantages with serverless computing, it can also result in vendor lock-in because of the exclusive nature of the cloud provider services. For mitigation of this risk, it is important to design the services and functions to be as cloud-agnostic as possible. Make use of standard frameworks and libraries and take into consideration multi-cloud plans that allow easy migration among the providers.

Make a plan for disaster recovery and backups.

Disaster recovery and backups of data are important components of any IT project. For serverless computing, it is important to make sure that your functions and data are being backed up regularly and that you have some disaster recovery plan in place. Make use of cross-region replications, and automated backups for protection of your data and keep availability of applications in case there are failures.

Conclusion

Implementation of serverless computing can offer several benefits to IT projects such as scalability, simple infrastructure management and cost-effectiveness. With a proper understanding of the serverless use cases, selecting the correct provider and ensuring best practices in designing security and cost management, it’s easy to leverage serverless architecture for enhancing IT projects.