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Is serverless hitting the mainstream?

Welcome to Protocol | Enterprise, your comprehensive roundup of everything you need to know about the week in cloud and enterprise software. This Thursday: why serverless computing will be an important trend to watch in 2021, the launch of Protocol | Fintech and the funniest man in cloud computing.
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Every AWS re:Invent keynote delivered by CEO Andy Jassy in recent years has contained a data center's worth of information packed into three hours, and inevitably a few things slip by without much discussion. The 2020 edition a few months ago was no exception: Jassy revealed that Amazon passed a milestone that, on reflection, has enormous implications for the future of enterprise computing.
Lambda is a so-called "serverless" computing service, first introduced in 2014, that allows developers to write applications without having to know anything about the hardware on which their applications will run, a huge break with decades of software development reality. The tactics used in serverless computing have evolved in different ways over the past six years, but the broad approach is a natural extension of the journey from single-processor servers to virtual machines to containers, albeit one with a very different mindset.
The concept of serverless has been growing in scope. Microsoft and Google have also been investing in serverless computing designed around functions and events, with Azure Functions and Cloud Functions respectively. But all three companies have also expanded the ideas behind serverless computing to accommodate customers that want to package their applications in containers, following the runaway popularity of the Docker container format over the past several years.
In fact, "serverless containers" have come to overshadow the functions and events side of things among cloud services, which is why Jassy's statement is an interesting milestone for software development.
New ideas take time to get a foothold in enterprise computing, as the cloud itself — preparing for its 15th birthday next month — shows. Serverless functions have been marinating for several years, and 2021 could be a year of sizable traction for the concept.
Two types of companies are emerging: digital disruptors and those being digitally disrupted. Now, as digital product becomes the epicenter of the digital business, new research reveals how companies like Ford, Match, and Care.com are using product analytics to place their digital bets. Read the report to learn more.
Where the money is: We launched another vertical here at Protocol this week, Protocol | Fintech (sign up here and get the newsletter twice a week). Benjamin Pimentel took a look at how IBM is trying to build cloud services with banks and financial services customers in mind, who realized early in the pandemic that they needed to modernize their systems, and fast.
"Highly concentrated": AWS was named in last year's tech antitrust report issued by the House Judiciary Committee, but interest in hauling the cloud leader into antitrust court does not appear to be top of mind for the Biden administration at the moment. I talked to several competition experts who described what regulators might be looking for — and what might be hard to find — should they change their minds.
Cloud of the State: Salesforce is going to build a private version of its CRM software for the U.S. Department of State, Protocol's Joe Williams reported. It would be the first time Salesforce would be "building a completely private system for a single customer," and could be an interesting model for SaaS companies and government agencies going forward.What was your first tech job?
I started my career in law enforcement, serving as a detective for the Cheshire police in the U.K. I ultimately left for my first tech job at WebConcepts, which developed vendor-managed inventory software for movie studios, essentially a planning and replenishment platform that managed DVD distribution back when DVDs were a thing! I worked closely with architects and developers to create the features and functionality.
What was the first computer that made you realize the power of computing and connectivity?
My first computer was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. I wouldn't say it demonstrated connectivity, but it did fascinate me enough to learn basic commands at a young age. I wrote code that created pop-up boxes and visuals on screen. It was fascinating to see things appear as a result, like magic. I also spent a lot of time playing Manic Miner or Daley Thompson's Decathlon, which at the time was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.
What was the biggest reason for the success of cloud computing over the past decade?
Over the past decade, access anywhere has become the core of cloud computing. The immediate move we've made to working remotely in the last year has only reinforced this: With digital transformation substantially sped up, the ability to access from any device, anywhere in the world, with speed and agility, to get the information you need is just good for business and for life.
What will be the biggest challenge for cloud computing over the coming decade?
The proliferation of data and all of its privacy aspects and implications will continue to accelerate. The world runs on data. Legislation is moving in one direction to protect the rights of the consumer, while continuous technological innovation that requires vast amounts of data to foster the types of personalized experiences customers want and expect is moving in the opposite direction, creating a difficult balance to strike.
Will the pandemic usher in a new era of remote working, or will we all come back together when it is safe to do so?
I believe it will be a blend. I think there will be more willingness from organizations to be flexible and allow more remote work, but humans crave the company of other humans, and we have a need to come together personally and professionally. It will be interesting to see how we all adapt to this new normal, as it is a lot easier being remote when everyone is remote. When you have a mix of people in-person and remote, it becomes much more challenging: it's harder to read people, to read the room, and give airtime to those who aren't physically present.
Two types of companies are emerging: digital disruptors and those being digitally disrupted. Now, as digital product becomes the epicenter of the digital business, new research reveals how companies like Ford, Match, and Care.com are using product analytics to place their digital bets. Read the report to learn more.
Thanks for reading — see you Monday.
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