Software development has a lot of intricacies and can get really complex, however, many service platforms have emerged to help software developers quickly build out applications without worrying about all the moving parts.
To cut down on the time taken to develop software, there are several services you can use to help speed up your software development process. You may have heard of the following tech acronyms, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Backend as a Service (BaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) etc.
In this article, we’ll focus on what Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) is and how it compares to serverless computing.
What is Backend as a Service?
Backend-as-a-Service outsources backend services required by a web or mobile application to a cloud-based service provider. The use of BaaS allows developers to focus on building the client side of their application. The Backend-as-a-Service provider handles the usual backend services
such as user authentication, email and SMS push notifications, database management, and cloud storage.
APIs and SDKs with documentation are always provided by BaaS providers to enable easy integration with frontend applications built by developers who use their service. Developers can configure the backend service to suit their needs through a provided interface.
Top Backend as a Service (BaaS) Providers
- Firebase: This is a tested and trusted BaaS backed by Google. The platform provides all essential backend services allowing developers to build quickly, test and launch various applications whether mobile or web.
- Appwrite: This might seem like a newcomer, but the platform has become increasingly popular, especially among mobile app developers. The platform is open-sourced and can handle all core backend requirements for your apps. It also provides an interface to configure and manage your application backend.
- AWS Amplify: Amplify is another product offering from Amazon Web Services to help developers build full-stack applications within a short time frame. The service comprises tools like Amplify Libraries, Amplify UI Components and Amplify Studio for your backend services needs.
- SupaBase: This is considered a good alternative to Firebase and its popularity is growing within developer communities. SupaBase offers core backend functionalities and it is very scalable when in use.
- SinglebaseCloud: Developers can have the application backend set up quite easily as Singlebase Cloud provides a NoSQL Datastore, Authentication, Storage, Search, Images, and Analytics. It does these by providing easy-to-use REST and GraphQL APIs.
What is Serverless Computing?
Serverless computing is a form of cloud computing where developers build and run their applications on the cloud on a pay-as-you-use basis without having to provision or manage servers. Here, the cloud-service provider handles backend infrastructure like auto-scaling, maintenance, security, configuration and many other intricacies.
The biggest takeaway from the cloud computing model is that developers only pay for the amount of server resources used. If an application is not in use, then no resources are allocated to it.
Serverless does not mean an absence of servers but a cloud service provider provisions and manages all infrastructure necessary to run the application.
Benefits of Serverless Computing
- Easy deployment of applications within a shorter time period.
- Reduced cost of managing backend infrastructure on your own.
- Enhanced scalability during peak and off-peak periods.
- Improved latency as users can access your services without drawbacks.
Conclusion
Backend as a Service and Serverless computing is here to stay as far as software engineering is concerned. It is also very important to know which type of cloud-computing model is relevant to your product or business in general.
Using a BaaS or Serverless computing provider comes with its perks and one of them is that developers can focus more on improving the client-side, user experience and overall business logic.
