Cloud computing has revolutionised the way businesses store and access their data. This model has given organisations greater storage capacity and computing power. However, implementing applications in the cloud can be costly and complex. In this context, a new computing paradigm has emerged: serverless computing.
Contrary to what its name may suggest, serverless computing does not mean that there are no servers, but rather that software developers do not have to worry about their management and configuration, as the cloud provider takes care of them. This model divides the application logic into a set of small, ephemeral, stateless functions that communicate with various cloud services to perform their tasks. Today’s serverless architectures are event-driven, allowing functions to execute on receipt of a wide range of events, such as receiving an email or adding a new piece of data to a database.
Unlike monolithic systems and microservices, serverless computing offers a pay-as-you-go model for the resources consumed by each application, thus reducing the costs of deploying and managing applications and/or services. In addition, this model is developed according to the needs of the organisation, which means that no large capital outlay is required.
Currently, we can distinguish two types of serverless architectures: Function as a Service (FaaS) and Backend as a Service (BaaS). FaaS allows developers to deploy and run their own functions in the cloud, while BaaS is a service that automates back-end development through third-party services and applications. Both architectures offer numerous user benefits, such as outsourcing infrastructure management and operational tasks to cloud providers, pay-as-you-go and automatic scaling of resources.
One of the main challenges of serverless computing is the security of this model. The ecosystems around which this architecture is built are complex and dynamic, which requires ensuring that the components and the interaction between them are secure. Software developers are responsible for maintaining security at the application level, so it is vital to follow security best practices when writing serverless functions to reduce the chances of bugs that can lead to attacks.
Serverless computing has been created for fast data exchange of web and business applications in the cloud. Some of the scenarios where it could be implemented include Backend as a Service (BaaS), performing tasks upon event detection, integrating chatbots and chat assistants, and the big data domain.
In short, serverless computing is a technology that has come to revolutionise the way companies deploy their applications in the cloud. In this model, software developers outsource all infrastructure management and operational tasks to cloud providers, allowing them to focus solely on writing the code for their applications.
In addition, the serverless model is characterised by a pay-as-you-go model, which means that you are only charged based on the resources consumed. It also offers automatic, fast and unlimited scaling of resources up and down to match demand, from zero to almost infinity. All this makes serverless computing a very attractive option for companies looking to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their processes.
However, despite all these advantages, security remains one of the main challenges of serverless computing. The ecosystems around which this architecture is built are complex, dynamic and composed of many different components. For such an ecosystem to be secure, it must be ensured that the components and the interaction between them are secure.
In short, serverless computing is a cloud application deployment model that promises many advantages for enterprises. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that this model is secure and reliable. As more organisations adopt this architecture, the security challenges of serverless computing will likely become more pressing.
