The “backend-as-a-service” segment of the mobile development community is evolving. Several startups got into the game early and helped define the market, such as StackMob, Parse and Kinvey. Others have followed suit and attempt to give developers similar options while integrating other value added services. Israel-based Applicasa is one of those.
Applicasa released a program this week it calls “Start-App.” The program is designed to give developers all the cloud functionality and content management system services for free until an app has 100,000 downloads. Applicasa claims to be the “one stop shop” for all mobile developer needs.
Applicasa’s Differentiator
Applicasa got in touch with me after the news that Appcelerator had acquired Cocoafish. The goal for Appcelerator in buying Cocoafish was to add cloud service functionality to its existing set of tools. Applicasa’s CEO, Lior Malenboim, sees itself in the same realm as both a tools and service provider.
Applicasa provides database creation, custom queries and a CMS to manage updates, deployment and push notifications. It provides a customized SDK to set up cloud functionality that Malenboim promises is fast and simple to use.
Fundamentally though, Applicasa is not different from Kinvey, Parse or StackMob. Each of those companies also helps developers with many of their problems. StackMob wants to be “your complete technology stack for mobile development.” Kinvey is very active in helping the developers on its platform with any solutions they may need.
“I think at Applicasa we have a little bit of a different approach from the others. We don’t only do the database, we consider ourselves the one-stop shop. We want to help the developer with anything that he needs,” Malenboim said. “You can use backend service to send versions (updates) to different clients, use our CMS. I think our CMS is quite a different approach from the other providers. We actually give you a complete solution so you don’t have to build a CMS, you don’t have to build a complete system for your clients (users). You can actually invite clients to use the system with the developers.”
The with “Start-App” program, Applicasa’s service is free to 100,000 downloads. Packages then start from $199. The program is designed specifically for startups as Applicasa has three different pricing tiers for brands ranging from $49 (10,000 users) to $199 (300,000 users).
“We at Applicasa decided that the best way we can support innovation and budding developers is to give our service away for free,” Malenboim said. “As the competition for the heart of developers accelerates, companies will try to do their best to keep up with the new technology and trends. I think all the service providers have so far done a great job developing their product by trying to help developers to deliver the best app possible in the shortest amount of time. Let’s all hope that this so called ‘war’ for the developers will be seen as beneficial to the development community as a whole creating the best tools for the job.”
