Kii Corporation today announced the launch of its carrier-grade flagship Kii Cloud as a turnkey Mobile-Backend-as-a-Service (MBaaS). This move catapults Kii into position as the biggest player in the space, serving 25M end users with the cloud. The Kii Cloud will now be open to independent app developers at no cost during the public beta period.
Mobile-Backend-as-a-Service enables developers to embed cloud services in their apps and, to date, has been led by pre-profitable, small, venture-backed startups such as Parse.com, Kinvey and StackMob. App developers require a cloud backend to understand user behavior, engagement and retention, for cross- and multi-platform apps and for monetization — and MBaaS reduces hundreds of hours of server programming into a snap-in client SDK that can be up and running in your app in minutes.
“Our carrier credentials set us apart in the MBaaS space,” said Masanari Arai, CEO and co-founder of Kii Corporation. “For years, we’ve been working with some of the top carriers in the world on mobile app scalability, reliability and performance. Now, any mobile developer can plug our proven, industrial strength mobile backend into their app.”
Opening the Kii Cloud
Kii Cloud is now delivered as fully self-service including full documentation, sample code, SDKs and support in the new developer portal with dynamic analytic dashboards and full API management. Startups, design agencies, and first-time app makers can now visit the Kii Cloud developer portal at http://developer.kii.com and drop Kii Cloud SDK into new or existing apps. This SDK provides apps with cloud user management, data management, analytics and monetization capabilities without writing a single line of server code.
Kii Cloud provides the backend for apps like i-concier, the synchronization service for NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s number one telecommunications provider as well as:
· SoftBank’s mobile sync service
· Kii’s own China phone PIM backup service
· ASTRO File Manager, the number one file manager on Android
· KeepSafe media vault, a featured app in the iTunes App Store
Kii Cloud had only been offered to leading telecommunications companies and select application partners in the past, but 300 percent year-over-year growth in end users persuaded the company to expand access to its mobile backend service.
Kii technology is proven to be highly scalable and reliable, but app developers also benefit by partnering with a company with the size and scale of Kii. Kii is an established, profitable company with its own venture capital fund (Kii Capital) focused exclusively on independent mobile app developers. Kii also provides mobile app developers access to a distribution network of Asian mobile operators and OEMs (Kii Partners). The fusion of technology, financial backing and distribution partners creates a one-stop business accelerator for participating mobile developers.
