Container vs. Serverless – What Fits Your IT Strategy with AWS?

The central question of your cloud journey

In the dynamic world of cloud technologies, companies often face the question: How do we design our IT infrastructure efficiently, scalable and future-proof? The answer often lies in choosing the right architecture – containers or serverless.

The right choice between containers and serverless is crucial because not every application is immediately suitable for serverless. While modernization with serverless often requires profound adaptations, containers can often be used without extensive changes. It is worth taking a closer look at both applications and finding the optimal solution for your company.

Both approaches offer advantages, but which one best fits your specific IT strategy and solves your current challenges?

Full Control or Automatic Scaling? AWS Offers Both

AWS Containers: Applications Securely Packaged

Containers, as they are provided for example via Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) or Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), package your applications into isolated, portable units. Think of standardized shipping containers that you can transport and run anywhere, independent of their environment.

The advantages of containers

Containers offer high isolation and portability, as each application runs in its own consistent environment and can be seamlessly moved between different environments (e.g. on-premises and AWS). Additionally, you retain full control over the runtime environment and configuration.

The disadvantages of containers

The management of containers, their orchestration and scaling, can be complex and require specialized knowledge.

AWS Serverless: Code Without Server Worries

Serverless computing allows you to run code without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure (servers). AWS manages the servers for you, scales automatically, and you only pay for the actual execution time of your code.

The advantages of serverless computing

The biggest advantage is the liberation from server management – you don't have to worry about provisioning, patching, or maintenance. The pay-per-execution model leads to significant cost savings for variable workloads, and automatic scaling of executions.

The disadvantages of serverless computing

Disadvantages can be potential vendor lock-in. Additionally, there are so-called cold starts (short delays when first invoking a rarely used function) and challenges with debugging. Since serverless architectures are stateless and often require a redesign of existing applications, they are not suitable for every application without extensive restructuring. Furthermore, there are runtime limits for very compute-intensive processes, which can limit their use.

What Strategy Fits Your Company?

Goals, Requirements, Conditions

How do you make the best choice for your specific requirements? The decision between containers and serverless requires a strategic approach based on a thorough business analysis and precise IT requirements. The answer: There is no one-size-fits-all solution; the best architecture depends on your specific goals and conditions.

Foundation for Your Decision: Your Business and IT Analysis

Before making a choice, you should answer the following core questions

• Business Goals: What strategic goals are you pursuing - whether product development, service improvement, or market expansion? The chosen architecture should optimally support these goals.
• Specific IT Requirements: Do your applications require special computing power, strict security standards, or compliance requirements? Consider performance demands and legal frameworks.
• Costs: What is your budget for setup and operation? The cost model is particularly relevant for highly fluctuating workloads.
• Scalability: How quickly, and flexibly, must your applications be able to respond to demand spikes?
• Flexibility: How important is the ability to quickly adapt to new requirements or technological changes?

The Grand Comparison

Options, Possibilities, Use Cases

When should you choose containers?

Containers are the preferred choice when you need detailed control over the runtime environment and operate stateful applications like databases. In hybrid environments, they enable seamless integration and management of workloads both on-premises and in the cloud. They are also suitable for complex migrations of existing monolithic applications to the cloud with minimal changes (“lift-and-shift” scenarios).

• Examples: Databases and other existing applications that should be moved to the cloud with little effort.

When should you select serverless?

Serverless services, such as the important AWS service Lambda ("Function-as-a-Service"), are particularly useful for quickly creating prototypes and optimizing costs for irregular loads through their pay-per-use model. They are ideal when applications need to be quickly scaled to handle highly fluctuating requests, such as in the case of viral events, or when they need to respond to specific events.

• Examples: APIs with varying request numbers, chatbots, IoT backends, or event-driven data processing (e.g., after an image upload).

Hybrid Approaches: Combining the Best of Both Worlds

Often, the best approach is a hybrid one that combines the strengths of both architectures. Core components can run on container-based services, while new, improved, or event-based features are implemented via serverless. This strategy enables an optimal balance between business requirements and maximum efficiency.

Conclusion: Your Path to the Optimal Cloud Infrastructure with AWS

The right choice between container and serverless architecture on AWS depends on your specific requirements.

Containers on AWS offer detailed control and are suitable for applications with state data such as databases, as well as for hybrid environments and complex migrations of existing systems.

Serverless on AWS convinces with automation, scalability, and cost efficiency for irregular loads. Ideal for rapid prototyping, event-driven applications, and load spikes.

Often, a hybrid approach can also be optimal - core components run container-based, and new features are serverless.

To choose the right path for you, a clear analysis of your current starting point, requirements, and goals is needed to select the best possible application on AWS.