Serverless computing refers to the practice of delivering backend services on a per-user basis. Users may create and deploy code without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure using a serverless provider. Because the service is auto-scaling, a firm that uses backend services from a serverless vendor is paid depending on their calculations and does not have to reserve and pay for a predetermined amount of bandwidth or number of servers. Physical servers are still utilised, despite the moniker serverless, although developers do not need to be aware of them.

Anyone who wanted to develop a web application in the early days of the web had to own the actual gear necessary to run a server, which was a time-consuming and costly task.
Then came cloud computing, which allowed users to rent certain numbers of servers or quantities of server space through the internet. Developers and businesses that rent these fixed units of server space typically buy more than they need to guarantee that a surge in traffic or activity does not cause their applications to crash. This means that a lot of the money spent on server space might be wasted. To solve the problem, cloud companies have created auto-scaling models, but even with auto-scaling, an unwelcome surge in activity, such as a DDoS attack, maybe highly costly.

Serverless computing enables developers to buy backend services on a flexible ‘pay-as-you-go' basis, which means they only pay for the services they utilise. This is analogous to moving from a cell phone data plan with a monthly set limit to one that just costs for each byte of data utilised.

The name "serverless" is a little deceptive because there are still servers delivering these backend services, but the vendor handles all of the server space and infrastructure problems. The term "serverless" refers to the ability of developers to operate without regard for servers.