What is a primary function of serverless architectures?

A primary function of serverless architectures is individual scaling of functions. In a serverless model, applications are broken down into smaller, discrete functions that can be executed independently. This allows for each function to scale automatically based on demand without the need for manual intervention or the provisioning of resources.

When a function is invoked, the serverless platform allocates the necessary resources dynamically, ensuring that the function has exactly what it needs to execute at that moment. This elasticity enables developers to efficiently handle varying loads, optimize resource usage, and reduce costs, as they only pay for the compute time consumed by their functions rather than maintaining a constant server infrastructure.

The other options focus on traditional server management, continuous deployment practices, or large-scale data handling, which are not primary attributes of serverless architectures. Serverless is fundamentally about enabling automatic scaling and flexibility for individual components of an application.