What is The Difference Between Scaling and Elasticity?

In common languages, scaling and elasticity are two terms that are used interchangeably although in Serverless Computing for SaaS, they hold a different context.

• Scaling: This refers to the system’s ability to adjust to workload changes by either adding or subtracting resources. It can be done manually or automatically, but the aim is to adapt to growth.
• Elasticity:  A step beyond scaling, elasticity involves adjusting resources automatically and dynamically to align with real-time demand fluctuations. .

The SaaS world is highly unpredictable, and user demand can swing wildly. Scaling ensures your application is capable of handling an increase in demand, but elasticity is necessary for efficiency and affordability when demand is high and low.

Those based on traditional server architecture have always needed to be provisioned and scaled manually. Serverless computing presents an alternative approach to server management for SaaS applications.

• Scale on Demand: Serverless computing, override to set up new instances to cater for the traffic during user traffic to ensure constant flow.
• Scale Down: Serverless computing adopts an event-driven approach, ensuring resources are allocated only when needed, thus reducing idle resource usage and associated costs.

While traditional server-based architectures have served their purpose, they can sometimes present obstacles to agility and performance. Serverless platforms abstract away the complexities of underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus solely on application-specific code.

Serverless platforms use intelligent load balancing formation and auto-scaling methodology to route traffic across different instances.

Load variation control is done through auto-scaling where a new instance of the application is created in case of high load. On the other hand, during low demand and activity, the extra instances are properly terminated to avoid wasting computing resources.

The design aims to maintain responsiveness while optimizing resource allocation, reducing instances of over-provisioning and associated cost implications.

Serverless computing provides the ability for SaaS companies to adjust resource allocation dynamically in response to demand fluctuations. This approach is intended to achieve a recurring level of performance with the specific consideration of possible economies in resource consumption.

Think of it this way: It’s similar to having an endlessly scalable space for a SaaS application. Although the system can dynamically adjust its capacity, the effect of user fluctuations on overall performance remains uncertain.

Elasticity in serverless computing is strongly connected to cost optimization for SaaS organizations.

Pay-Per-Use: This pricing model allows you to incur costs only for the amount of computing resources consumed. This approach eliminates the need for over-provisioning servers to accommodate infrequent peak loads.

Efficient Resource Allocation: Some of the common forms of computing models used in the serverless environment include dynamic scaling and resource allocation with the intent of conserving and eradicating likely costs for unused computing power.

In other words, the cost per customer is only based on the number of resources that were used. This reduces the costs involved as witnessed by organizations that utilize server-based systems, they tend to subscribe to services that they do not fully utilize.

The environmental adaptability and dynamic nature in regard to scaling offered by serverless computing can also influence the architecture and functioning of SaaS services.

• Developer agility: Some of the infrastructure issues could be eliminated by reducing their potential impact or by excluding them entirely so that developers could focus their efforts on creating new features.
• User experience: Applications generally do not reduce performance substantially, even during high usage rates.
• Subscription-based: SaaS businesses have no high initial capital for investment and this affects their expansion and cost structure.