dogokit / dogokit-baas-ecosystem

Backend as a Service (BaaS) ecosystem

Backend as a Service (BaaS) ecosystem

Let's discuss around BaaS ecosystem. Why we need, when to use, what are the options, and how they are comparing.

🎉 Feel free to do some casual discussion and QA (question/answer)

Introduction

Why we need it and when to use it?

• Frontend and backend are well differentiated.
• Experimentation for new projects/products/features.
• Limitation factors related to business as well.
  • Team of developers, so need to maximize team effort. Want to outsource cloud infrastructure management to the most experienced.
  • Timeline, so need to speed up backend development. Reduce time to market.
  • Budget, so need to cut cost. Save money and decrease the cost of development.
• Need a lot of backend features quickly.
  • Database management
  • Hosting and deployment
  • User authentication and authorization
  • Email verification
  • Files/assets storage
  • Push notifications
  • Serverless function
  • Geolocation
  • Security settings
  • Social account integration
  • REST API or GraphQL API
  • SDK (software development kit) for various platforms
    • JavaScript
    • Java
    • Ruby
    • Python
    • Golang
    • PHP
• Trade-offs
  • 3rd party code and responsibility
  • Vendor lock-in
  • Unexpected long term cost

Definition and scope

What is exactly a BaaS?

• Backend that we can use immediately without any prior development.
• Can expose the REST API or GraphQL.
• Can be cloud-hosted (available instantly) or self-hosted (usually open source or on-premise).
• Comparable to Headless CMS (Content Management System).
• Can be categorized as low-code and no-code.

References

• https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/serverless/glossary/backend-as-a-service-baas
• https://blog.back4app.com/backend-as-a-service-baas
• https://www.okta.com/identity-101/baas-backend-as-a-service
• https://bejamas.io/discovery/headless-cms

API BaaS

Evaluating most popular BaaS options.

• Firebase
• Supabase
• Nhost
• Strapi
• Payload CMS
• Hygraph
• AWS Amplify
• Backendless
• back4app
• Pocketbase
• Kontenbase
  • Kontenbase v1
  • Kontenbase v2 preview / Microgen v3

References

• https://blog.back4app.com/firebase-alternatives
• https://bejamas.io/discovery/headless-cms

Internal Tool BaaS

• Retool
• Budibase
• Metabase
  • A backend written in Clojure which contains a REST API

Questions if any

• How is it different with PaaS (Platform as a Service)