Mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) Benefits for Enterprise

Mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) solutions are gaining significant traction in the application development world. Gartner estimates that 40 percent of mobile app development projects will leverage cloud mobile backend services by 2016. What is driving this adoption? In a word: agility. MBaaS solutions facilitate enterprise agility by enabling developers to be more responsive to business needs.

MBaaS solutions modularize the backend systems used in mobile apps. Commonly used services like data storage, user management, push notifications, social networking services and others are hosted on a centralized server stack and exposed as a service. The services are usually delivered through software development kits (SDKs) and application programming interfaces (APIs). Here are five ways MBaaS solutions help organizations achieve enterprise agility:

1. Reducing development costs: A significant amount of development effort is dedicated to the end-to-end infrastructure of a mobile app. This requires specialized programming skills including an understanding of native data model APIs. MBaaS abstracts the server-side infrastructure, thereby eliminating the need for these skills and enabling development teams to run leaner and reduce costs.
2. Getting to market faster: Most mobile applications use the same backend services. Without MBaaS, developers have to individually incorporate each of these services into every mobile app they build. MBaaS streamlines this process by providing one unified API and SDK to incorporate into the application, enabling developers to focus more of their time and effort on the front end of the app and deliver to market faster.
3. Collaborative app development: Some MBaaS platforms include virtual collaboration capabilities that facilitate collaboration across teams, from frontend developers to backend IT integration. Team members can seamlessly work together on source code and shared APIs.
4. Real-time access to data: MBaaS solutions enable developers to easily provide mobile apps with access to real-time data. This typically requires building a data persistence layer. However, with an MBaaS solution, developers can connect to existing data sources, such as ERP or CRM databases, without having to move or modify them. The data is made available to the mobile app through APIs or SDKs.
5. Developing for multiple platforms: A significant amount of specialized work is required to develop backend services for mobile platforms. Without MBaaS, developers have to develop functionality to reach into backend systems, generate push notifications and enable geolocation features in each platform. MBaaS provides SDKs for each of the platforms that abstract away much of the complexity for managing the backend of mobile apps.

By reducing backend application development work, MBaaS solutions enable enterprise agility that extends beyond the development team. Developers can more efficiently deliver on frontend business requirements, which in turn promotes creativity and innovation from the business.

Source : Mobile backend as a service: Benefits for enterprise agility