Facebook to axe Parse after struggling to compete with Amazon and Microsoft
Facebook is shutting down Parse, its tool for helping developers build mobile apps, as it steps away from the intensely competitive cloud computing space to focus its attention elsewhere.
Parse conference
Parse confirmed in a blog post that it will gradually shut down until it finally turns off completely on 28 January 2017.
"We’re proud that we’ve been able to help so many of you build great mobile apps, but we need to focus our resources elsewhere," wrote Parse co-founder and head Kevin Lacker.
Strong fourth quarter financial results and a booming ad business have led Facebook to invest its efforts in its core product. It will no longer have to compete with the likes of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine and Salesforce Heroku as a service for developers to build and host apps.
Facebook had high hopes for the service, which it purchased in 2013 for around $85m, however it struggled to compete with the might of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, who have grown exponentially in recent years and continue to lower their prices.