Serverless eliminates server management, scales automatically, and charges only for actual compute used. For the right use cases, it is transformative. For the wrong ones, it introduces complexity, cold start latency, and unexpected costs.
Serverless Limitations and Mitigations
Serverless limitations and mitigations
| Limitation | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Cold start latency | 100-3000ms on first call | Provisioned concurrency, keep-warm pings |
| Execution timeout | AWS Lambda: 15 min max | Use Step Functions for long processes |
| Vendor lock-in | Hard to migrate | Abstraction layer (SST, Serverless Framework) |
| Cost at scale | Expensive vs EC2 for constant load | Containerise at >10M requests/month |
Ideal Serverless Use Cases
- Event-driven processing: image resizing, document processing, webhooks
- APIs with variable/burst traffic
- Cron jobs and scheduled tasks
- Edge functions: auth, A/B testing, geolocation routing
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Architecture Decision
Default to serverless for new projects unless: constant high-throughput load (>10k req/min), persistent connections needed, or workloads > 15 minutes.
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Tanvir Tuhin
AI consultant, digital marketer, and study abroad mentor based in Aberdeen, UK. Founder of JJAT Education.
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