Gartner estimated that by 2020, 20% of the world’s organizations will have gone serverless. Serverless computing initiates a mind shift in the way businesses are run and improves the accuracy and impact of technology services. Leading to higher functionality, reduced AWS bills, increased delivery speed and multi-cloud support, serverless computing paves the way into the future.
The scope of serverless is yet unexplored. With new and high-potential developments (such as FaaS and GitOps) still in their nascent stages, organizations can expect massive benefits leveraging the power of serverless computing going forward.
Servers have been a very important part of the computing architecture for decades. But, with the introduction of cloud, we’ve moved to predominantly web-based server infrastructure, and the migration to serverless architecture has begun.
Serverless computing–abstract and virtual server support–has made the computing landscape more dynamic, robust, intuitive and powerful. But advancement in serverless technology is still in its nascent stage. The next few years are expected to bring in numerous developments and transformations.
First, let’s take a look at some serverless trends you should keep an eye out for.
Kubernetes Will Become the Go-to Serverless System
Kubernetes has become synonymous with open-source containerization. But in the next few years, we will see Kubernetes become the base for serverless infrastructure. Features such as networking, service discovery, agile scaling and multi-cloud environment support make Kubernetes the perfect choice for serverless.
Additionally, with Knative already released, the process of standardization and interoperability of serverless platforms may soon become a reality.
Stateful Applications Will Also See the Usage of Serverless
Restriction of serverless for stateless apps is a thing of the past. The next few years will see stateful apps benefiting from the immense power of serverless. Developers will be able to use database connections, BaaS and event payloads to run their applications.
FaaS Industry Size Will Grow
The FaaS market is expected to grow to $7.72 billion by 2021. Large-scale adoption of serverless will be seen across the world, and there will be a 32.7% CGAR.
GitOps Will Be the Next Big Thing
The version-controlled system of DevOps, GitOps, will see more takers in the future, especially in FaaS. GitOps is expected to improve operational workflows, especially in fast-moving projects, and enable implementation of technologies such as Kubernetes and other cloud solutions.
Additionally, this will enable cloud vendors to provide greater ecosystem support and tooling capabilities to users.
Containers Versus Serverless
Containers by nature are segmented, isolated and contained spaces of application-specific servers. While they offer high degrees of specialized (and often customized) tools, resources and support, they suffer from numerous challenges:
- They are very resource-inefficient compared to serverless.
- Their ecosystem is fractured as opposed to the wholesome environment offered by serverless.
- Data storage and retention are complicated, necessitating frequent data migration across containers.
- Graphics support is limited, resulting in poor-quality deployments.
The challenges that come with containers prompt organizations to choose serverless. Already, many companies have implemented serverless.
Here is how the move to serverless will benefit you, too.
Serverless Computing Eliminates the Need for the Set-Up of Complex Application Stacks
Developing even the most basic server-bound application is a challenging task. It requires the set-up of high-powered and complex application stacks that can be both difficult to build and difficult to manage. By going serverless, organizations can eliminate all these heartaches.
Serverless stacks, such as Lambda and Azure, create a robust and intuitive environment for the development of agile applications, by providing organizations with a large set of capabilities and allowing them to run at scale, at the lowest costs.
It Reduces the Organization’s Capital Expenditure
Unfortunately, IT infrastructure is considered a capital expenditure by many organizations. So, building your own servers can lead to a high CapEx.
Consider this. Physical servers are vulnerable to breakdown and depreciation, which add to CapEx. If you report this value as expenses in your income statement, it may ultimately negatively affect your P&L and your company valuation. Going serverless allows organizations to avoid such a challenge and maintain their profitability and high valuation.
Plus, serverless infrastructure reduces the need for human resource deployment as focus on batch processing decreases. Additionally, serverless allows organizations to convert workflows into step functions, which reduces the number of EC2 and SWF issues. Together, these reduce company expenses tremendously.
It Shortens the Standard Release Cycle Significantly Due to Microservices and Nano-Services
Serverless computing allows organizations to benefit from the magnificent power and scope of microservices. From making minute application-specific developments to isolating and rectifying issues, to managing and deploying individual applications, organizations can do a lot of things using serverless computing.
In fact, a survey shows that utilizing serverless microservices can bring down the standard release cycle from 65 days to a mere 16 days.
It Allows Easy Completion of ELT Tasks and Cron-Type Jobs
Again, serverless computing microservices gives organizations the flexibility, technical support and clarity needed to process data. ELT tasks become more consistent and allow the creation of structured data warehouses.
Similarly, since isolated components and applications can be created, deployed and fixed in serverless, it’s easier to implement cron-type jobs as well.
It Allows Organizations to Escape Traditional Workflows Through Event-Based Computing
Adoption of serverless computing allows organizations to shift from the restrictive, time-consuming and draining traditional workflows and engage in event-based computing. Now, coders can just write the algorithms and allow the serverless provider to take care of the data storage and computing needs. Not only will this reduce the time of transaction processing and the cost of DevOps, but it will also free up the time and space for coders to take on other business logic tasks.
It Enables Green Computing
With climate change becoming such an imminent threat to the world, it’s important for organizations to become mindful about the way they operate. One way to become sustainable is to go serverless.
For one, serverless computing ensures organizations don’t over-utilize electricity. Additionally, with no physical servers and data centers that emit toxic radiation as they cool down, there will be lesser concerns about health and climate change.
Another aspect is scalability. Serverless is highly-scalable, meaning you don’t need to set-up more servers at your office. Given that 30% of the world’s servers are unused at any point in time and most servers only utilize 5%-15% of their total capacity, serverless may be the best way to go green.
It Promotes Deployer Autonomy and Encourages the Adoption of New Mindsets
Serverless computing gives organizations the freedom to focus on their core business offerings and deal with only low-level OS issues. This time, money and opportunity can be used by deployers, coders and top management to develop competitive offerings, which can help the organization overtake competitors.
With physical servers, it’s more likely than not for organizations to focus on technical server issues than the business process.
Conclusion
Serverless computing could be one of the most exciting developments of the 21st century. It is breaking down old barriers and allowing organizations to expand and explore new frontiers. Its high deliverability, coupled with the immense opportunities it promises, makes it a must-adopt in any organization.
