The death of Parse has elicited extreme reactions. Developers are mourning the end of one of the best SaaS providers ever. Though it is indeed a sad news, but is the hype of its end that much necessary. We delve a bit deep and find that it may not be the worst thing ever. In fact, it may lead to a new wave of innovations, where the developer is more in control.
The closing down of Parse, which will complete on the January 27th 2017, will lead to newer players in the SaaS segment. It has issued a detailed parse migration manual which will allow developers and creators of apps to transfer their data to other SaaS providers. Facebook had issued a press release stating the same.
So, where do we go from here?
The road to perdition is pretty straight forward and simple. Barring initial hiccups and unforeseen expenses, this is a moment of truth for most of us. The developer’s community, though a bit shocked with the sudden turn of events, will soon make new discoveries. In fact, one such initiative is already underway. (https://github.com/relatedcode/ParseAlternatives). Moreover, this event will lead to greater independence amongst apps creators and owners of technologies.
The thing with SaaS is its scalability. SaaS platforms are ideal for rapid prototyping. However, if your app needs to be built to scale and is mission critical then it is always advisable to create one’s own backend. This gives greater control and one can leverage it to create a competitive edge.
Parse, the past
Coming back to the reason of its demise, we need to understand the role Parse played in churning technology. This was a MBaaS (Mobile Backend as a Service) which first appeared in 2011. The reason it attracted so many developers, despite the presence of heavyweights like Microsoft (Azure) and Amazon, was its complete handling of support of individual services of app developers with very little configuration. The pricing was brutally attractive, a smart backend portal and easy to use and well documented SDKs.
In no time, did its subscriber base rise to a formidable 500000 applications. Soon it was bought over by Facebook in 2013 for $85 million.
So, what changed?
If you have been trying to make sense as to why Parse would be shutting down, here is one reason that you would like to read. With the behemoth now concentrating on web critical technologies, it thought of doing away with a company which made a fortune in creating apps, that would turn into a competitor for Facebook in the future. The idea backed great business sense. Facebook did not want to lose focus from its core business, the web and Parse did not contribute to it much.
What Lies on the Road Ahead?
With the going of Parse, we now have an independent drive towards self reliance. Because, Parse powered everything in the backend, it became a symbol of over reliance. With such a structure now a thing of the past, developers will either hire talent with the required skills or create it by themselves.
Any which ways, it seems to be a win-win for everyone.