14 DAY TRIAL // Google has made another big acquisition, although this one is supposed to help the company offer a helping hand to developers. Firebase is a backend service that offers app developers the chance to build tools for iOS, Android and the web that can store and sync data instantly.
Firebase has about 110,000 registered developers on the platform and the team says they’ll continues working just like they have up until now.
“Mobile is one of the fastest-growing categories of app development, but it’s also still too hard for most developers. With Firebase, developers are able to easily sync data across web and mobile apps without having to manage connections or write complex sync logic. Firebase makes it easy to build applications that work offline and has full-featured libraries for all major web and mobile platforms, including Android and iOS,” Google’s Greg Demichillie, director of Product Management, said in a blog post.
Google believes that by combining Firebase with Google Cloud Platform, they’ll be able to build the best end-to-end platform for mobile applications development. Those who are already among the Firebase developers will start seeing improvements right away. Similarly, those who are Google Cloud Platform customers will find it even easier to create great mobile and web apps.
“The entire Firebase team is joining Google and, under the leadership of Firebase co-founders James Tamplin and Andrew Lee, will be working hard to bring you great new features. Not only will the products you already love continue to get better, but you’ll also gain access to the full power of Google Cloud Platform,” Demichillie said.
Come November 4, at Google Cloud Platform Live, they’ll be demonstrating new Firebase features and integrations with Google’s tools.
Firebase is happy to join Google
Firebase seems pretty happy about the move. In a blog post, the company’s James Tamplin, co-founder and CEO, explains why they’ve decided to join Google.
First and foremost, Tamplin states that Google’s support allows the company to dramatically scale Firebase. “We’re proud of what we’ve built over the last three years, but we’ve only scratched the surface of the opportunity ahead of us. With Google’s engineering talent, resources, and technical infrastructure, we’ll be able to do much more, much faster,” he states.
Secondly, Tamplin believes that their products and missions are highly complementary. Both Firebase and the Google Cloud Platform have the same purpose: helping developers create great user experiences. By joining forces, developers will have access to a much more powerful infrastructure and rapid development capabilities.
As mentioned, unlike other companies that get shut down quickly after acquisition, Firebase will live on inside Google, but it will have a lot more resources to do its job. They’re even hiring new people, so that should settle any doubts about the company’s future.