May 16, 2023

Navigating the Cloud: Vytenis Sakalas’ Key Insights from LOGIN 2023

Vytenis Sakalas, a cloud evangelist with more than a decade’s worth of professional experience in the cloud industry, shared his knowledge at the LOGIN 2023 IT conference as one of its 250 presenters.

His speech, titled “Getting Cloud-native. Myth, misconception, and the reality of going Serverless,” focused on tackling some of the misconceptions of cloud hosting as well as shining a light on some of the lesser-known pitfalls.

Here are the crucial takeaways from Sakalas’ speech:

 

Understanding “Serverless”

Sakalas kicked off his talk by dispelling a common misbelief: the notion that serverless means no servers are involved. Instead, he clarified that serverless simply implies server management is someone else’s responsibility. Likening it to a “Pizza-as-a-service” model, he explained that cloud computing essentially boils down to your level of responsibility in the process.

Do you want to make your pizza from scratch (on-premises infrastructure), simply order and enjoy (Software as a Service), or still have take-out, but retain some control over it, like choosing the toppings (serverless services)?

 

Recognizing the Challenges

Sakalas openly acknowledged the potential obstacles of serverless technology, highlighting issues like vendor lock-in, security considerations, and troubleshooting difficulties. However, he firmly believed that the benefits – such as reduced costs, accelerated software delivery, and a developer’s focus on coding – outweigh these drawbacks.

 

The Versatility of Serverless Technology

Vytenis Sakalas demonstrated serverless technology’s adaptability by outlining its potential application in different scenarios: legacy monolithic software applications, B2C startups, and B2B applications. For monolithic applications, transitioning to the cloud can be intimidating, but it can yield increased operational efficiency and flexibility.

For startups, serverless can aid rapid scaling and minimize upfront costs. In B2B scenarios, serverless offers enhanced reliability and faster time-to-market.

 

Security and Compliance are Paramount

Vytenis addressed the importance of security in cloud environments, recognizing potential concerns about data privacy and compliance. Explaining how these can be avoided by choosing leading cloud service providers that offer advanced security measures and stressing the importance of a shared responsibility model for security in the cloud.

View serverless not as a mythical concept but as a tool with its own strengths and weaknesses. With a clear understanding and its application in the right context, organizations can fully leverage cloud technology.

Incorporating serverless technology can revolutionize your business, but it requires a clear understanding of its capabilities and potential pitfalls. As Sakalas so clearly demonstrated, the cloud of tomorrow may be closer than we think.