Top 10 FaaS Providers

The utilization of Function as a Service (FaaS) is rapidly increasing among developers and businesses in the last few years. A MarketsandMarkets study forecasts that the market size of FaaS would reach around 7.72 Billion USD in 2021.

This shows the demand for FaaS features and providers in the cloud computing world. That’s why this guide is sharing top FaaS providers and advantages with readers.

What is FaaS — Function as a Service

Without managing the infrastructure, this serverless model of cloud computing permits developers to make, operate and scale applications as functions.

Function as a Service (FaaS) installs functionalities and only costs when these functionalities are accomplished. In short, FaaS gives developers an opportunity to run a component of an application or a separate function but only charges when the script is acted out.

Conventionally, FaaS is used to set up microservices. AWS Lambda, OpenFaaS, Google Cloud Functions, IBM Cloud Functions and Microsoft Azure Functions are famous FaaS providers.

Advantages of Function as a Service

Function as a Service is popular among developers and businesses because of distinct benefits. However, we are discussing the major advantages of using the FaaS platform here:

Enhances Development Speed

With Function as a Service (FaaS) developers don’t need to worry about the deployments and servers. They just need to emphasize the code because the server is parted into functions. This feature leads to independent scalability. Also, you don’t have to administer the infrastructure with FaaS. Therefore, this cloud computing model doesn’t only enhance the development speed of your project but also overcomes the time to market your application.

Inexpensive

Although FaaS permits developers to only pay when the script is executed, but it is also inexpensive in many ways. Yes, most of the FaaS providers offer pay-as-you-go pricing models where customers only have to pay for what they use. It means you don’t have to pay for anything extra with FaaS.

Scalable

Scalability is another great benefit of using FaaS platforms. Indeed, FaaS vendors scale up the functions instantaneously when it is needed and also reduce them according to the requirements. In simple words, it is seamless to scale your application automatically with FaaS models.

Reduces Delays

The servers of different FaaS providers are spread in various geographical zones. That’s why developers don’t need to face delays. This benefit of FaaS definitely overcomes the development latencies.

Top 10 FaaS Providers

Here are the best ten FaaS providers.

1. AWS Lambda

Amazon provides the services of AWS Lambda as FaaS. AWS Lambda is a Function as a Service platform where you can run your code on highly available compute infrastructure. This platform costs the user for the time which is used to run the code.

Core Features

Server & OS Maintenance — AWS Lambda maintains the operating system and the whole server on behalf of the customer. AWS Lambda monitors the operating system and server for error-free functioning and better performance.

Auto Scaling — AWS Lambda performs automatic scaling to provide the best performance for the customers.

Logging — AWS Lambda maintains the log of all the requests to the functions. It also keeps the accounts of the resources being used.

2. Google Cloud Functions

Google Cloud Functions are amongst the top FaaS providers all over the World. It provides programmers with the facilities and environment to run functional code without any server management or administration.

Core Features

No Server Management — This FaaS platform helps in building and deploying code without managing the server at all. As a result, you can focus on the development instead of administering and managing the server.

Scales Automatically — This FaaS provider platform manages and scales the infrastructure automatically according to the workload.

Google & Third-Party Services — Google Cloud Functions permits you to use Google and Third-party services as building blocks for your code. Instead of building it from scratch.

3. Azure Cloud Functions

Microsoft Azure provides the platform named Azure Function, which is one of the best Function as a Service suppliers. This platform helps you build more efficiently with serverless compute where you do not need to handle the server or infrastructure.

Core Features

Any Technology Stack — There is no restriction in building and deploying functions in any specific language or server. You can use any programming languages or frameworks, including NET, Node JS, Python, Java, etc.

Azure Application Insights — You can use this amazing feature of Azure Functions to monitor performance. You can spot bottlenecks and failure hotspots easily using this feature.

End to End Experience — You can improve end to end development & debugging experience using integrated tools and built-in DevOps capabilities.

4. Cloudflare Workers

Cloudflare Workers is another one of the most reliable Function as a Service providers founded in 2017. This platform helps in scripting and setting up your code without getting engaged in management and server related tasks. You can write your code and deploy it using this useful FaaS platform efficiently.

Core Features

Supports Multiple Languages — You can write your functions or APIs in different languages. Cloudflare Workers support JS, Rust, C and C++ as well.

Deploy Easily & Quickly — You can deploy your code easily and quickly using CLI or Web Interface. You do not need to configure or maintain the server.

High-Performance Global Network — The performance cannot be compromised on Cloudflare as its network is milliseconds away virtually from every internet user.

5. Twilio Functions

Twilio Function is a serverless environment where you can write and deploy your code by handling the complex functionalities of a server or infrastructure. This is another one of the most powerful and useful Function as a Service providers to help you to execute and deploy your code.

Core Features

Default Security — Twilio maintains the security by default. It helps you execute your code by using the Twilio requests so none other than you can access your functions.

Auto Scaling — The scalability feature is very useful to ensure the performance of your application. Twilio automatically adds the capacity which is needed to provide the best performance.

6. Iron.io

Iron.io is another easy-to-use Function as a Service provider. This platform provides simple, flexible and reliable serverless tools to execute and deploy your code in a serverless environment. You can deploy and execute your code by using Iron.io seamlessly.

Core Features

IronCache — Iron.io provides cache services that are fast and scalable. It also offers a Memcache compatible cache store. This store could be very helpful to boost the performance.

Focus on Coding — Iron.io provides the feature named ‘IronWorker’. IronWorker manages all the functionalities and tasks related to the server, so you don’t need to worry about that.

7. Netlify Functions

Netlify Functions is considered as one of the most reliable and easy to use Function as a Service provider due to its extraordinary features. For example, you can deploy and execute your server-side code as API endpoints or process complex functionalities in the background.

Core Features

Build & Test Locally — Netlify helps in building and testing your code locally by using the Command Line Interface. You can run a local development server and share it with others.

Preview & Rollback — Programmers can easily view all the commits of the code with deploy preview. Users can roll back in case of any accidental deployment by clicking a prior deployment.

8. IBM Cloud Functions

If you are looking for reliable & simple Function as a Service provider, then IBM Cloud Functions is one of the best options. You can run your application’s backend code without servers with this service. Also, you do not need to manage the server or infrastructure.

Core Features

Cost-Effective Computing — IBM Cloud Functions charges you for the time in which your code has been executed. If your code is not being executed, then you do not need to pay.

Scalability — The IBM Cloud Functions automatically scales the computing power according to the need.

Trigger to Run — You can use REST API or trigger an event to execute your code.

9. Alibaba Functions

Alibaba provides a very effective serverless computing platform. You can use Alibaba Functions to deploy and execute your code without managing the servers or infrastructure. In the same token, compute resources are allocated flexibly and reliably to run your code.

Core Features

Highly Reliable — Distributed clusters are located in different locations. Therefore, if one zone becomes unavailable, then the Function Compute of Alibaba will use other instances automatically.

Efficient — By using distributed clusters, your code can be executed more efficiently by any user from any region of the world. It improves performance.

O&M-Free — It frees you from O&M tasks. This feature simplifies the backend operations.

10. Oracle Functions

For serverless computing, you have another good option which is Oracle Functions. Indeed, effortless integration, scalability and provision of various programming languages make it a perfect choice for developers.

Core Features

Multiple Programming Languages — Oracle Cloud Functions support multiple languages. You can write your code in any language, deploy and execute it as a function or API.

Easy Integration — You can integrate your code easily using REST API. Programmers can also utilize triggers to process the code by using events.

Conclusion

This article shares all reputed FaaS providers with readers with some core advantages of using Function as a Service platform. Hopefully, this thorough guide would assist you in choosing the right FaaS provider for your projects.

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