Serverless computing, once a hot topic in technology, now quietly powers many modern cloud-native designs. Microsoft Azure Functions has evolved to support updated APIs and languages, becoming a key element in Azure’s best practices, enabling everything from AI to the Internet of Things. At the core of Functions is its ability to offer on-demand computing on a “pay for what you use” basis, eliminating the need to provision infrastructure and focusing on stateless code that responds to events.
During Build 2024, significant updates were announced for Azure Functions, aligning it more closely with current development trends like the ability to run in managed Kubernetes environments and support on-demand AI applications built around Azure Open AI. Azure Container Apps, a managed Kubernetes environment, simplifies application container management and scaling rules, offering a platformless solution that supports event-driven scaling and serves as an ideal host for functions.
Furthermore, Microsoft’s AI focus was prominent at Build 2024, integrating Azure Functions into the AI programming toolchain to drive generative AI operations and respond to Azure Open AI triggers. A Functions extension supporting multiple languages facilitates the integration of AI capabilities, enabling functions to act as a helper in an Azure Open AI workflow or create a chatbot interaction based on external triggers, among other functionalities.
Azure Functions also introduced a Flex Consumption billing plan, enhancing the existing Consumption plan by providing more flexibility in infrastructure choices for deployments requiring fast responses. With support for larger memory instances and virtual private networks, the Flexible Consumption plan caters to applications needing more resources and secure networking links.
In conclusion, serverless technologies like Azure Functions continue to be a vital framework for building modern cloud-based applications due to their ability to rapidly scale and minimize costs while being billed only when running. By responding to events and messages, Azure Functions complement Kubernetes and AI platforms, offering an efficient way to add new features to Azure applications quickly and effectively.
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https://www.infoworld.com/article/2515709/microsoft-updates-its-serverless-azure-functions.html/amp/
