SC

Strategy Canon

Parse: sourced choices

21 product and go-to-market choices, oldest first. Back to the case study

  1. 2011Product · Initial SDK Parse began with an iOS library for saving and retrieving structured data. PA1
  2. 2011Product · Data modeling The early service inferred structure from client objects rather than requiring developers to configure a schema first. PA1
  3. 2011Product · Network handling The SDK handled networking and caching work between the client and backend. PA1
  4. 2011Go_To_Market · Initial customer The founders focused on developers building the mobile front end rather than experienced backend operators. PA1
  5. 2013Product · Accounts User accounts and permissions became part of the hosted service before acquisition. PA1
  6. 2013Product · Messaging Push notifications were included in the expanded service. PA1
  7. 2013Product · Analytics Parse added application analytics. PA1
  8. 2013Product · Backend logic Cloud Code let developers execute JavaScript business logic on Parse's servers. PA1
  9. 2013Product · Administration A graphical interface let agency or client staff work with data and push notifications. PA1
  10. 2013Product · Cross-platform support By the acquisition period the service supported mobile development across platforms. PA2
  11. 2013Go_To_Market · Free entry A generous free tier helped developers start projects without paying. PA1
  12. 2013Go_To_Market · Support The small team provided substantial hands-on developer support, sometimes extending to customers' own code. PA1
  13. 2013Go_To_Market · Paying segment Small mobile game developers were one early source of revenue, according to Sukhar. PA1
  14. 2013Go_To_Market · Agency segment Creative agencies paid for tools that reduced backend work on client apps. PA1
  15. 2013Go_To_Market · Price ceiling Sukhar described a tradeoff between funding reliability and support and keeping the service attractive against building on AWS. PA1
  16. 2013Go_To_Market · Financing alternative Sukhar says Parse had Series B term sheets when it chose to sell. PA1
  17. 2013-04Go_To_Market · Acquisition Facebook completed the acquisition near the end of April 2013; reporting put the price at $85m excluding retention and bonuses. PA6
  18. 2013-09-12Go_To_Market · Developer event A dedicated developer event and Zuckerberg's appearance gave the acquired service public backing. PA2
  19. 2017-01-30Product · Migration The official migration guide directs developers to run Parse Server and a separate MongoDB backend after hosted shutdown. PA5
  20. 2017-01-30Product · Compatibility limits Migration required attention to file URLs, authentication settings and other differences from the hosted service. PA5
  21. 2017-01-30Go_To_Market · Customer transition Migration documentation supported a move from the hosted product to self-operated or separately hosted infrastructure. PA5