There are several objections that folks raise related to adopting [[Serverless MOC|Serverless]] architectures, compared to using more traditional server-based architectures. ## General objections - Simple **lack of awareness** or misconceptions of the benefits that serverless can bring - **Steep learning curve** for developers - [[Viewpoint- Serverless forces you to use microservices]] - **Poor DX of existing cloud services and tools** - [[A fully local development workflow is impossible for most serverless applications]] - Serverless developers are **hard to hire for** (due to how new it still is) - Founders or **senior developers can be stuck in their ways** and don’t want to learn something new or spend time upskilling teammates - Billing concerns: - PAYG pricing model can cause **unwanted billing surprises** - [[Viewpoint- Cloud bills can be significantly more expensive at huge scale with serverless applications]] - [[Working with RDBMS databases is difficult with serverless]]. **Lack of serverless relational databases** is a deal-breaker - [[Viewpoint- Serverless is too risky because of the vendor lock-in]]**** ## Objections specific to certain org types ### Objections by [[Funded startups]] - Founders don’t have time to learn any new tech stack (nevermind serverless) and **stick to what they already know** - Startups need to iterate quickly and using **serverless slows teams down** in the critical early stages because it's often new to most team members - The touted benefits of **Deployment and scaling aren’t major concerns of early-stage startups** - **VC spend does not encourage efficiency** in terms of team size - Technical founders actually **enjoy the challenges of tinkering with lower level tech and servers** - [[Serverless is not amenable to lift-and-shift of an existing application]] so can’t benefit from being introduced when a startup is scaling up (added by me), which is often also the time when they're getting a big round of funding --- ## References - ["what is the biggest tradeoff of going serverless ?" / Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/brianleroux/status/1422659956571099137) by [[@Brian LeRoux]] - [things a serverless dev has to do (Tweet)](https://twitter.com/byFcz/status/1480932537954455572) - [The unfulfilled promise of serverless](https://www.lastweekinaws.com/blog/the-unfulfilled-promise-of-serverless/) by [[@Corey Quinn]] - Answer to above: [The Unfulfilled Potential of Serverless](https://www.jeremydaly.com/the-unfulfilled-potential-of-serverless/) by [[@Jeremy Daly]] - [Why are so few funded startups using serverless?](https://serverlessfirst.com/emails/why-are-so-few-funded-startups-using-serverless/)