Backend as a Service (BaaS) provides cloud-based storage and APIs for mobile and web applications without requiring developers to build their own backend system. It offers features like user registration and login, file storage, push notifications, and analytics. BaaS platforms like Kinvey, Backendless, and Parse support platforms including iOS, Android, JavaScript and store data in various formats like JSON documents or relational databases. They differ in pricing models, capabilities, and data storage approaches.

1. Backend as a ServiceBackend as a Service
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2. What is BaaS?
● Also known as mBaaS (mobile backend)
● Cloud storage for web and mobile devs
● Registration & login, social networks integration
● Push notifications
● File storage
● Analytics
● Hosting
● ...and many more
Allows mobile/front-end developers to
NOT have to develop backend

3. Pros & consby Kelly Rice @ Kinvey
● Save time
● Save money
● Richer apps
● More productivity
● Data liberation
● No complete control
● Latency issues
● Business is business

4. Who uses BaaS?

5. Initialization
● Same model for all:
– Application ID
– Client Key
– Application version (for Backendless)
● In Kinvey, configuration can be separated in
properties file

6. Platforms
● Mobile
– iOS
– Android
– Windows Phone
– Unity
– Xamarin
– React.js
– REST API
● Desktop & Web
– OSX
– Windows
– Javascript
– PHP
– .NET
● Embedded
– Arduino
– Embedded C

7. Platforms
● Android (Java)
● iOS (OSX)
● Windows Phone (.NET)
● ActionScript (Flex/AIR)
● Javascript
● REST API

8. Platforms
● iOS
● Android
● Java
● HTML5
● AngularJS
● Backbone.js
● Ember.js
● PhoneGap
● Titanium
● Node.js
● Xamarin
● REST API

9. Data Service
● Internally stores as flat JSON documents

10. Data Service
● Internally stores as flat JSON documents
● Uses MongoDB

11. Data Service
● Internally stores relational model
● Uses MySQL

12. Data Service
●
Local datastore
●
Eventual save
● Similarity to JSON
● Embedded query functions
● Embedded query functions
● ..and it kinda stops here
● Relational data model
● No additional set up for classes
●
External databases (currently MySQL only)
● SQL-like where clause for queries

13. Geo Service
● Stores only geo point's coordinates
● Relations from data object to geo point
● “whereNear” method: returns closest points
● No separate entity for geo point
● Instead, objects may have _geoloc property
●
Geo points has metadata – key-values
● Relations from geo point to data object
●
SQL-like where clause for queries
– Backendless.Geo.find( “latitude=55.3 AND city='Tampa'” )
– where “latitude” is one of coords and “city” is GeoPoint's metadata

14. Cloud Code
●
Javascript
● Hooks to when data is added/removed
● Cloud functions
● Logging
●
Javascript
● Hooks to collections (data tables)
●
Cloud functions
● Java
● Local CodeRunner for debug
● Hooks to almost all events
● Cloud functions
● Logging
● Timers

15. Security
● User roles
● Data object permissions
● Class-level permissions
● Master key for cloud functions (Parse.Cloud.useMasterKey() )
● Ownership for entities
● Class-level permissions
● Object-level permissions (set in class itself)
● User roles
● All kinds of permissions (Data, Roles,
Files, Geo, etc.)
●
Ownership for data and files

16. Pricing
● https://parse.com/plans
● Unlimited analytics
● 1 background job
● http://www.kinvey.com/pricing
● No free tier ?
● https://backendless.com/pricing/
● Unlimited API calls
● Unlimited data storage
● In-depth analytics

17. Sources
● What are the pros and cons of using a backend-as-a-service?
– http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-using-a-backend-as-a-service
●
BaaS comparison table
– https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al7M8fgKPXoidENFa0M5VnJpb3pMeHQtS0RDcH
● BaaS Android API Comparison
– https://gist.github.com/gdaniels/3495006
● BaaS Data Model comparison
– http://maxrohde.com/2014/09/09/a-comparison-of-data-models-in-baas-backend-as-a-service/
● BaaS general comparison
– http://www.slideshare.net/pyro2927/baas-comparison-iosmn
– http://baas.apievangelist.com/
– http://yourstory.com/2014/01/mobile-backend-players/
– http://www.developereconomics.com/finding-right-baas/
– http://yalantis.com/blog/four-mbaas-platforms-compared-android-point-view/