BaaS: What are the benefits?

This article will explore the benefits of using a BaaS – Backend as a Service platform. It will provide an overview about this cloud service and a list of core features.

A Backend as a Service platform automates server-side development and handles the underlying infrastructure. It delivers ready-to-use backend building blocks, allows users to outsource the infrastructure management, and is used by app developers to build web and mobile apps.

Core Features of a Backend as a Service

The key features of a BaaS include:

• Database
• APIs and SDKs
• Cloud Code Functions
• Notifications (Push Notifications, Email Notifications, etc)
• Cloud Storage
• Authentication (Social Media, Email, etc)
• Cloud Based Hosting

For a detailed list of features, please read the article BaaS Features. 

Should I use a BaaS? 

The advantages of a BaaS vs. a custom backend rely on a faster time-to-market, lower development cost, and scalability. On the other hand, a custom backend will provide more flexibility, complete control, and customization opportunities.

There is no right or wrong, and the ideal solution will depend on the project being developed.

Top 20 Benefits of Using a Backend as a Service

Here is a comprehensive list of the main advantages of using a BaaS provider.

1. Development Speed

The most evident advantage of using BaaS solutions is accelerating the development speed. A BaaS platform will deliver reusable pieces of code and help end-users avoid recreating the wheel.

Software development is expensive, time-consuming, and pretty much still performed manually. Automating repeatable tasks deliver massive productivity gains and can save up to 80% of the backend coding time depending on the project. 

Examples of automated tasks using a BaaS include setting up servers, integrating a CDN – Content Delivery System to the files and databases, and providing a ready-to-use data model integrated with APIs.

Continue reading to discover more Mobile Backend as a Service benefits. 

2. Reduce time to market

A faster time to market is a direct consequence of increasing the development speed. Having a project ready in less time has multiple advantages for startups and enterprises.

Early-stage startups usually struggle to find product-market-fit. So, the faster the product is ready, the better. The trial and error experimentation process of finding product-market fit will be faster and streamlined using a Backend as a Service. Simply put, the time and resources invested in each experiment will be lower versus coding every time the backend is from scratch.

Corporations and enterprises will also benefit from using a Backend as a Service. They will launch digital products faster, create satellite systems with fewer resources, and run multiple software tests simultaneously.

A Backend as a Service will play a vital role in simplifying the development process, standardizing tasks, and delivering ready-to-use features. Examples are:

• Test and launch digital products faster
• Run multiple tests
• Get feedback from users quickly

Please read the article Startup Accelerated Development in 80% Using a BaaS. 

3. Cost

According to Indeed, the average software engineer annual salary in the United States is $117,993.

So, startups and enterprises shall allocate software engineers to perform high-value-added activities rather than boiler-plate, low-value repetitive tasks. A Backend as a Service will play a vital role and automate most of the repetitive tasks required to create a backend.

Please read the article Saved $350k with a BaaS to know more about this subject. Keep reading to learn more BaaS advantages. 

4. Focus on the core business

Another Mobile Backend as a Service mBaaS benefit is that you will support companies focus on core business operations. Companies that focus on their core competences will be able to concentrate efforts on what there are good at, have more time to handle important things, motivate staff, etc.

5. Standardize backend development

A Backend as a Service will standardize how software engineers build and deploy backend code. It is advantageous for the following reasons:

• Knowledge retention
• Consistent quality
• Delivery predictability
• Compliance
• Security

6. Fewer backend engineers

Hiring developers is complicated, expensive, and time-consuming. So, reducing the size of the development team will reduce the complexity of the hiring process and facilitate team management.

A BaaS or mBaaS will reduce the DevOps team size, allow the organization to work with fewer developers, and focus on delivering exceptional user experiences to the end-users.

Keep reading to learn more mBaaS advantages. 

7. Focus on UX and frontend development

Frontend, also known as the client-side, is the piece of the code that the end-user sees and interacts with. Examples are an app on a mobile phone or a website on your computer.

A great user experience and is important because it fulfills the user requirements, increases engagement, and the trust on a brand. So, trading off user interface for building repetitive backend tasks is not a smart choice.

A Backend as a Service will free up development resources on the backend and allow companies to invest more energy on the frontend side.

8. Allow developers to focus to high-value lines of code

As described above, developers are expensive! So, they have to focus their effort on creating business-centric lines of code.

Boilerplate code and repetitive tasks are not excellent ways to allocate developer time. For example, why reinvent the wheel and ask a developer to create a social-login integration? It makes no sense, and it’s much better to use a pre-built template for this purpose. 

Keep reading to learn more Backend as a Service advantages.

9. Cross-platform development

Using a BaaS or mBaaS allows companies to implement a cross-platform development strategy very easily.  Most BaaS vendors offer SDK – Software Development Kits that integrate with Android/ iOS and web applications.

So, a Backend as a Service solution will simplify cross-platform development and allow companies to integrate Android, iOS, and web applications under a single and standardized backend infrastructure. 

To know more, please download this template for Android mobile applications. 

10. React to feedback fast

MVPs – Minimum viable products are delivered faster using a Mobile Backend as a Service solution. As a result, companies can get feedback from end-users in a shorter time frame than traditional backend coding.

Let’s consider a hypothetical example of a software product launched in 12 months using a traditional backend infrastructure. It means that end-users will start providing feedback to the MVP only after 12 months. Most likely, the first version of every MVP has low user ratings and needs to be improved. So, developing a backend from scratch will only allow the feedback cycle and improvement process to start after a long time.

On the other hand, a Backend as a Service will allow a much faster launch of the MVP. Supposing it takes four months, it means the end-user feedback cycle will start much earlier. Based on the feedback, the development team will have time to improve the product, make new releases, and have a much more stable version after 12 months.

Keep reading to lear more Mobile Backend as a Service advantages. 

11. Serverless Environment

BaaS provides a serverless architecture to the users. So, another one of the essential mBaaS benefits that you will get from this service is no need for servers. The benefits of a serverless infrastructure includes:

• No server management hassles
• Lower-cost
• Flexibility
• Scalability
• Quick deployment and updates

12. Outsource cloud infrastructure management

Running, managing, and scaling server infrastructure is complex and time-consuming. It demands specialized and expensive DevOps engineers, adding unnecessary complexity to the application management process.

A BaaS implementation will free companies from this hassle, save them costs, and focus on more critical aspects of the business.

13. Scalability

Startups, in particular, may need to scale up resources very quickly. A Backend as a Service will make this process very smooth and straightforward. Most BaaS providers have a substantial quantity of servers under the hood, and scaling an application will be as easy as clicking a button.  

Please read the article How to scale to millions of users using a BaaS to know more about this topic.

14. Performance

Another one of the most important things that you will get as the Backend as a Service benefit is increased performance. The BaaS platforms run on robust and well-designed infrastructure. In most cases, that leads to better performance than deploying an application without professional support.

Examples of features that lead to better performance are the implementation of ready-to-use CDNs, multi-region deployments, and new-generation virtual machines.

15. Security

With the help of Backend as a Service, users will get enhanced security to their applications. A mBaaS solution will work with well-established security practices, update security patches, and provide a more robust environment than a self-coded backend.

16. Privacy Requirements

Along with the security, Backend as a Service offers ready-to-use GDPR protocols. Using a BaaS, companies will outsource the data processing requirements to a third party and save additional server setup time.

17. Continuous Delivery and Integration

CD and CI are two features commonly offered by backend providers. The benefits of a unified development include fault isolation, shorter review time, and a smoother path to production.

18. Testing and staging environments

 Backend as a Service offers you a significant edge to test applications easily. Using a Backend as a Service building a new testing environment may be as easy as clicking a button. The user only needs to clone an existing application, and replicating all the data and schema will be an automated process.

19. Backup procedures

Most BaaS providers offer ready-to-use backup procedures. It will reduce the risk of losing data and streamline the backup recovery process.

20. Reliability

Most backend as service players will deliver a fully redundant infrastructure with applications running on multiple servers. It means the apps will never run on a single server that could be a single point of failure.

Even if a server fails, the application will operate normally with a fully redundant architecture because multiple servers are running simultaneously. The infrastructure setup will vary from provider to provider, and it’s essential to clarify this aspect before committing to a plan.

Conclusion

This article explained twenty advantages of using a Backend as a Service. Its advantages include a faster development time, shorter time-to-market, lower development costs, etc.