Definition, development and future of BAAS services

Baas (backend as a service) is a new cloud service designed to provide back-end cloud services for mobile and Web applications, including cloud data/file storage, account management, message push, social media integration, and more. Baas is a vertical cloud service, and with the continued heat of the mobile Internet, Baas is also being favored by more and more developers. As a new model for application development, it can reduce developer costs and allow developers to focus on specific development efforts.

Baas is a substitute for mobile middleware (or alternative) that uses a unified API and SDK to connect mobile applications to back-end cloud storage, and traditional mobile middleware integrates back-end services into applications through local physical services. And Baas integrates back-end services through the cloud. The biggest difference between middleware and Baas is whether they contain or provide cloud services, Baas can be said to be the extension of the PAAs platform in the mobile vertical field, but also the integration of mobile middleware and cloud. Now they all exist in different forms, the advantages of the cloud is obvious, that is simple, low-cost, middleware advantage is data security, easy to expand. So from the current trend, they do not have a significant substitution relationship, but may later Baas volume will be greater. Mobile middleware will be more able to use enterprises, but also more and more small and medium-sized enterprises, developers choose to use Baas.

Although Baas is a PAAs category, there are differences. Quora a brief description of the difference between the two, Baas simplifies the application development process, and PAAs simplifies the application deployment process. A PAAs is a development platform for executing code and managing an application-run environment, where users interact with the platform via a code versioning tool such as SVN or git, and for developers, PAAs is like a container, input is code and configuration file, and output is a URL that can be accessed by an application. While the Baas platform further abstracts user requirements, such as user management, developers want to create user database tables (models), the client can directly manipulate the corresponding model through the RESTful interface, all operations can be abstracted as crud. Before, developers need to create tables, write interfaces, write checksums, and in the Baas platform, developers only need to define the model, the platform will automatically generate the corresponding interface, which allows developers to focus on specific client code. Specifically for mobile phone-side Baas services known as Mbaas, most of the Baas platforms are now part of this category.

With the development of Mobile Internet, the division of labor in the mobile industry will be as gradually refined as other industries, back-end services are abstracted out, it unified to provide developers with file storage, data storage, push services, such as the implementation of more difficult functions to help developers quickly develop mobile applications. Abroad, Baas Service has been the focus of the Giants, in April 2013, Facebook acquired parse;2014 June, Apple released cloudkit;2014 October, Google bought Firebase. Parse, Cloudkit, Filrebase are well-known foreign Baas products, Apple and Google through the Baas service can better improve its biosphere, Parse can also help Facebook build its position on the mobile side, The value of Baas can be seen from the layout of the Giants in Baas. Overall, the advantages of the Baas platform include (from Sogou Encyclopedia):

Improve efficiency: Reduce the cost of all aspects of mobile app development and improve efficiency.

Shorten time to market: reduce the obstacles from conception to production and reduce the operating cost after the operation.

Reduce the resources needed to deliver the app: Baas requires less developer and IT resources.

For mobile and tablet optimization: Baas vendors spend a lot of time and resources optimizing mobile app data and networks, reducing fragmentation across platforms and mobile terminals.

Secure and resilient Infrastructure: Baas provides bundled infrastructure, solves operational challenges such as resiliency, security, and performance, and allows developers to focus on development.

A large number of commonly used API resources: Baas will be commonly used and necessary Third-party API Resources Rollup, eliminating the developers to collect the trouble alone.

In China, there are many manufacturers that provide BAAS service, typical representatives include Apicloud, Bmob, and AU, which mainly provide functions including social media integration, data/file storage, data analysis, message push and payment. For example, the main services provided by Apicloud include:

Data storage. The user can design the database through the visual interface, including creating class, defining fields, inputting data, etc. At the same time, the Baas platform can automatically generate the corresponding RESTful API, users can operate the existing APIs in any language, in addition, the platform also built-in user systems, role systems, file systems, permissions control modules.

Data push. In combination with the tag settings in app, we push the differentiated information for the users with different attributes, including timing push, off-line push, etc.

Version management. Support synchronous or asynchronous management of iOS and Android versions, and process development and versioning within the console. Supports incremental updates, which end users can update in their applications.

Data statistics. The platform can view new users of the application as well as active user data, and support custom event statistics.

From a functional perspective, domestic baas manufacturers (especially those who can provide complete platform capabilities) provide similar functions, most of which focus on push, storage, statistics. It is noteworthy that these key functions and the corresponding manufacturers are doing, for example, file storage of seven of cattle and shoot, push service Aurora push, statistical services friends, timely chat ring letter, so as the market matures, Baas platform in the functional focus should be the integration of other vertical cloud services.

From the profit model look, are to a small number of users charge. Looking at the current developer-oriented companies, most of their profit model is part of the service charge or some users charge, now the few Baas manufacturers are basically to some high-end users charge. But from the perspective of cloud development, there will be more small and medium-sized companies will use the Baas service, so the New Year Baas platform may be for the enterprise to provide differentiated services.

From a competitive point of view, because Baas in the domestic overall share is relatively small, so at present each manufacturer is in full expansion of their user base, direct competition is not yet. However, the current market of several manufacturers focus is not the same, such as Apicloud provides the ability to end and cloud, users can develop Cross-platform applications through the SDK.

The analysis agency MarketsandMarkets reported that the Baas market would reach $7.7 billion by 2017, compared with $216.5 million in 2012 and an annual growth rate of 104% per cent. Expected in 2015 Baas services will be more users of the pro-Lai, Baas development trend in general can be summed up as follows:

There are more vertical cloud services: With the development of technology and market demand, the development of the entire mobile internet industry is characterized by more vertical, subdivision and professional, so there will be more vertical field of BAAS service providers.

API Cloud Services Flourish: With the combination of cloud and large data, the business layer is more closely integrated with the data layer, the mobile app is more focused on the logic and performance of the interface, and the data and services needed by the app need to be retrieved from the cloud in the form of an API. So the data cloud Baas service that can provide the API output related to the data storage and the app logic business will have more demand and development.

Meet Custom Feature Extensions: Baas provides standard services, allowing developers to extend customized functionality to their personalized needs, based on their product and business characteristics, through the ability to configure and upload code online.

Become an industry mobile solution: With the mobile internet and more and more industries combined, Baas service with its concise, efficient, flexible, professional characteristics, will also be applied to a variety of industry solutions, to become the industry mobile solutions in the cloud support services.

With the maturity and stability of Baas services, the use of professional Baas services has become a regular choice in mobile application development, more and more customers accept, the 2015 Baas services have better development.

The above content is compiled by Infoq Editor's interview with Apicloud CTO Shanda, as described in the article, Apicloud is a mobile application cloud service provider.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)