Unlocking Serverless Enablement: A Path to Modern Development
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Chapter 1: Understanding Serverless Enablement
As the advantages of serverless computing expand, it becomes increasingly vital for organizations to engage and empower their application development teams.
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Imagine the excitement of wanting to attend a concert as a child, only to face the inevitable rejection from your parents. You meticulously prepared your arguments and gathered support from friends, presenting your case with enthusiasm, yet the response was a firm "no."
You sought explanations, but the response was simply, "because I said so."
This scenario mirrors the current landscape of serverless technology. Advocates highlight its scalability, cost efficiency, and increased reliability, yet large enterprises have been slow to adopt it.
According to DataDog's State of Serverless report, there is a gradual rise in the use of serverless services such as Fargate and container-driven Lambda functions. However, these represent only initial steps towards achieving a genuine serverless experience.
In my view, a true serverless experience minimizes reliance on containers unless absolutely required. Most challenges can—and should—be addressed using serverless solutions like Lambda, Step Functions, SNS, SQS, and EventBridge.
Unfortunately, this message often gets lost among software companies. Developers have adhered to traditional methods for decades; why shift now? What would it cost the organization?
We need individuals who can demonstrate the effectiveness of serverless. Showcase its scalability, illustrate the cost savings, and highlight the additional time engineers gain to tackle business challenges without dealing with hardware constraints.
Thus, we arrive at the concept of serverless enablement.
Chapter 2: Defining Serverless Enablement
Recently, I attended the Postman customer summit in Napa, California, where discussions with executives and tech leaders repeatedly emphasized the importance of tech enablement. These enablement teams function similarly to scrum masters, guiding other development teams through coaching, training, and removing obstacles while providing valuable examples and proof of concepts.
Similar to a notion I discussed a couple of years ago regarding "inner startups," building an enablement team begins on a small scale with a specific focus. In our case, we assembled a team to delve into serverless technologies.
I led a group of engineers for years, exploring the pragmatic uses of serverless for our organization. We started modestly, but as our knowledge grew, so did our range of applications. Eventually, we developed a legitimate production application, gaining a deep understanding of how serverless scales and how to design applications suited for production.
This culminated in the formation of our serverless enablement team. We had a solid group of engineers proficient in serverless development, equipped to provide real-world experience to other teams across the organization.
They possessed the knowledge, had examples ready to tackle challenges, and, most importantly, they were internal resources. We didn’t need to engage costly consultants; our own personnel had the relationships and credibility to advocate for serverless.
Serverless enablement involves not just theoretical discussions but practical applications.
Once we established a team with the necessary skills and expertise, it was time to disseminate that knowledge. We aimed to teach other teams how to transition to serverless and implement the best practices we had developed.
Section 2.1: Advantages of Enablement Teams
Governance plays a crucial role in any new technology, and creating an expert team from the outset helps establish it.
An enablement team not only shares practical experience but also lays down governance rules. Standardizing practices for a technology as versatile as serverless offers substantial benefits beyond mere cloud expenditure. It fosters consistency, sets boundaries, and accelerates development.
Even as the serverless community expands, organizations may still struggle to find answers to complex business queries posed by leadership. The expertise of the enablement team can deliver swift, evidence-backed responses, enhancing confidence in the technical direction the organization is pursuing.
I have engaged in numerous conversations with companies that lack a clear understanding of serverless. They grasp the basic concepts but often fall prey to common misconceptions.
One prevalent misunderstanding is the belief that serverless cannot tackle advanced issues. Frequently, while discussing its benefits, I encounter questions like, "What do you do about complex problems?" My response is that serverless can address nearly any use case (with few exceptions), but this often goes unacknowledged.
Enablement teams add immense value by not only communicating this message but also substantiating it with evidence. They can reference existing production software that demonstrates serverless's capability to handle intricate challenges, effectively dispelling misconceptions that hinder technology adoption.
Section 2.2: Initiating an Enablement Team
Starting an enablement team does not have to be an overwhelming task. If you've decided to pursue serverless, begin with a small team of engineers dedicated to researching and developing a serverless application or enhancing a component of your current application.
Encourage the team to gain experience and deepen their understanding of the technology. Allow them to evolve into experts. This team will serve as your internal consultants.
Building expertise takes time; you won’t create an enablement team overnight. Permit the team to practice, iterate, design, and construct. With each iteration, their knowledge and skills will improve.
Once your team is in place and their expertise has matured, start formulating your governance standards. Let their experience shape the initial guidelines for other teams. Do not rush into governance; first, solidify your expertise and thoroughly comprehend the technology across all levels.
After establishing governance, integrate team members into other development teams. Remember, these individuals function as consultants and should be utilized accordingly. They bring valuable expertise to the table and can assist in training and enabling others.
The LEGO Group exemplifies how to initiate serverless enablement. Sheen Brisals shared insights at AWS re:Invent 2020 regarding how LEGO.com employs serverless to enhance innovation. In his presentation, he outlined the journey they undertook to equip their engineers with a new tech stack.
Chapter 3: Conclusion
Serverless enablement represents a contemporary approach to integrating a new tech stack within an organization. Assemble a team of specialists and empower them to share their knowledge with other teams.
Build a repository of practical, real-world examples, and consider developing a production application. There is no stronger proof or reference than an operational application.
The primary goal of an enablement team is to facilitate the development process for others. They eliminate barriers, respond to inquiries, and investigate new concepts and methodologies. While R&D teams are common in many organizations, what distinguishes an enablement team is their focus on consultation.
Ensure that the members of your enablement team collaborate with other development teams throughout your organization. For success, it's essential to disseminate the expertise of your enablement team to others. Otherwise, they risk being viewed merely as another application team.
This process may be lengthy and challenging, but the benefits of serverless technology are substantial, and the range of applicable use cases continues to grow.
The first video, "What is serverless?" explores the fundamental concepts of serverless computing, illustrating its advantages and how organizations can leverage this technology.
The second video, "AWS re:Invent 2023 - Best practices for serverless developers (SVS401)," presents insights into effective strategies for serverless development, highlighting key practices for success.
Happy coding!