The advantages of serverless computing do not compensate for their disadvantages. Understanding why

Serverless computing refers to an architecture in which applications (or parts of applications) are executed on demand in specialized environments. They are usually located in the cloud, although serverless computing can also run on-premises.

Unfortunately, Serverless has never been able to reach its full potential. There is no doubt that serverless execution models can make code more scalable, making it easier for the user to manage. In some cases, they increase cost efficiency. However, these advantages are offset by a number of limitations that reduce the value of this technology.

1. Serverless only supports certain programming languages

Most serverless frameworks allow you to deploy functionality written in specific languages ​​only. However, this affects performance and requires additional system configuration to enable features.

The lack of universal direct support for serverless functions written in any language imposes significant restrictions on the use cases for serverless computing. As a result, when choosing a serverless deployment option, the developer depends on the availability of code in the required language, but the latter may not be among the supported ones.

2. Serverless frameworks of each vendor have their own specifics

The vast majority of serverless platforms are proprietary, that is, they have their own specificity, which depends on the manufacturer. This is because developers have paid little attention to creating standards for writing, deploying, and managing features, especially when compared to other cloud technologies such as containers.

3. "Cold" serverless functions decrease performance

A fundamental limitation of serverless architectures is that it takes additional time to run cold functions — those that have not run for a long time. Cold start times can be as short as a few seconds, but in high-performance environments where milliseconds are counting is an eternity. There is no reliable workaround for this problem.

4. You cannot make a serverless application entirely serverless.

Another disadvantage of the serverless model is that in most cases it does not fully deploy the application. Running everything in a serverless environment is impractical or economically disadvantageous, so this model assumes a way to run certain parts of the application in it that constantly require high performance and significant computing resources. Serverless is not like containers or virtual machines, which offer holistic ways to deploy an application to a target platform.

Serverless offers clear benefits and is a truly valuable solution for certain situations. Still, the technology's capabilities are overrated. To some extent, serverless computing can be called part of the cloud computing revolution, but it is not revolutionary on its own. The truth is that this technology offers some comfort, but it is not groundbreaking or stereotypical.