Serverless is a new paradigm in computing that enables simplicity, efficiency and scalability for both developers and operators. It's important to distinguish the two, because the benefits differ:
The main benefits that most people refer to are on the developer side and they include:
- No servers to manage (serverless) -- you just upload your code and the platform deals with the infrastructure
- Super simple coding -- no more monoliths! Just simple little bits of code
- Pay by the milliseconds your code is executing -- unlike a typical application that runs 24/7, and you're paying 24/7, functions only run when needed
Since you'll be running Fn yourself, the paying part may not apply, but it does apply to cost savings on your infrastructure bills as you'll read below.
If you will be operating Fn (the person who has to manage the servers behind the serverless), then the benefits are different, but related.
- Extremely efficient use of resources
- Unlike an app/API/microservice that consumes resources 24/7 whether they are in use or not, functions are time sliced across your infrastructure and only consume resources while they are actually doing something
- Easy to manage and scale
- Single system for code written in any language or any technology
- Single system to monitor
- Scaling is the same for all functions, you don't scale each app independently
- Scaling is simply adding more Fn nodes
There is a lot more reading you can do on the topic, just search for "what is serverless" and you'll find plenty of information.