What is Serverless Computing? - Serverless Computing Explained

Billy Odell Tucker-Robinson Founder & Host — Banking With Billy Network • Intelligence Network • Data Science • AI Research • World News
Published: 2026-09-02T06:11:02.743Z • Permanent link

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is credited with pioneering serverless computing, introducing the concept in 2014 with the launch of AWS Lambda. The brainchild of AWS founder Andy Jassy, the move marked a significant shift in the way developers build, deploy, and manage applications. Serverless computing's early success can be attributed to AWS's vast experience in providing scalable cloud infrastructure, as well as the growing demand for fast, agile, and cost-effective solutions in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Key to serverless computing's development was AWS's work with IBM, which contributed to the creation of OpenWhisk, an open-source serverless platform. In 2015, AWS acquired OpenWhisk and integrated its technology into AWS Lambda. This strategic partnership not only solidified serverless computing's place in the cloud infrastructure market but also paved the way for the widespread adoption of serverless architectures across various industries.

Serverless computing's emergence coincided with the rise of microservices, event-driven architectures, and real-time data processing. The convergence of these technologies created a perfect storm of innovation, driving the development of serverless computing. Today, serverless computing is an integral part of the cloud infrastructure landscape, with many companies, including Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and IBM Cloud, offering their own serverless offerings.

Serverless computing has far-reaching implications for companies operating in the cloud infrastructure space. For instance, companies like Netflix and Spotify have adopted serverless architectures to reduce costs and improve scalability. In the research community, serverless computing has opened up new avenues for innovation, enabling researchers to focus on complex data processing and analytics without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. Moreover, serverless computing has significant market implications, with estimates suggesting that the global serverless market will reach $22.3 billion by 2025.

The impact of serverless computing on the cloud infrastructure market is also being felt in policy environments. Governments around the world are recognizing the potential of serverless computing to drive digital transformation and economic growth. For example, the European Union's Horizon 2020 program has invested heavily in serverless computing research and development, recognizing its potential to drive innovation and competitiveness. As the cloud infrastructure market continues to evolve, serverless computing is likely to play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of the industry.

Serverless computing is part of a larger pattern of innovation in the cloud infrastructure space. The rise of cloud computing itself was driven by the convergence of technological advancements, including virtualization, containerization, and software-defined networking. This convergence created a perfect storm of innovation, driving the development of cloud infrastructure as we know it today. Similarly, serverless computing is part of a broader trend towards edge computing, which is enabling real-time processing and analytics at the edge of the network.