Serverless computing is a model for building and running applications without requiring server management, where applications are deployed as functions that automatically scale and are billed according to demand. Two main components are Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS), which executes code in response to events, and Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS), which uses third-party APIs for functionality. This approach allows developers to focus on business logic without managing infrastructure, while operations teams can concentrate on more critical tasks.