SaaS & Microservices Basics

Modern software-as-a-service (SaaS) is a paradigm shift from previously monolithic software applications. Solutions were traditionally delivered as a set of features that included data storage, business logic, a front end. Simply moving these monolithic solutions to the cloud does not constitute an ideal SaaS setup. Blip's microservices model is a set of independent, reusable, abstracted services that can solve complex problems given the right inputs. For instance a self-sufficient shipment tracker can accept an order number and return the full tracking history. It may be dependent on a series of internal or 3rd party services to accomplish this. Such a microservice is agnostic of the requester and the consumer of data thus allowing a series of such services to be interconnected to build customized solutions that can grow organically based on the changing needs of an organization.

Headless Applications

A user's only concept of a product is based on the screens they interact with. However it is possible for many Blip services to operate behind the scenes and not have a front-end at all. They are number-crunching backend engines that can be hooked up to a diverse number of interfaces - human and/or automated. Every client requirement is unique and we understand that one-size-fits-all philosophy is not a viable approach.

Focus On Automation

Blip's collection of microservices for the logistics industry are built to interconnect with any interface. The code for the logic has evolved and been fine tuned with years of experience for application in the areas of shipment tracking, cargo tracking, warehouse operations, cross-docking and transloading, authentication and authorization. Based on the requirements, the backend services can be integrated easily with existing automated workflows without the need for human input or monitoring.

Rapid Prototyping

Client requirements vary significantly even across similar problem domains. BlipAI's SaaS architecture and our exceptional UX team allow rapid prototyping of web apps to align with user needs and existing practices. This greatly minimizes the time required for onboarding while helping the org quickly realize the benefits of the microservices deployed for the solution with minimal upfront costs.

Research & Continuous Innovation

Ongoing prototypes in the field help us make use of emerging research in CS and OR fields to improve on existing solutions. New developments are refined and added to the Blip library regularly to expand on our library of algorithms and learning models. 

Scalable Cloud Architecture

BlipAI's architecture is abstracted into tiers to allow for rapid prototyping of solutions. This eliminates upfront engagement costs and commitment requirements. As prototypes mature and are introduced into production all Blip services are elastically designed to automatically provision more resources or scale them down as per demand. To learn more about this design paradigm please request our white paper

Usage Based Billing

Microservices are essentially just pieces of proprietary code that run in a cloud infrastructure fully managed by Blip's cloud partner Google. All services we run, use storage, compute, hosting, network resources and are billed according to usage patterns. To extend this idea we bill you according to  Just like you are not billed for power when you turn off your lights, we also do not incur expenses when we are not running our services. This true SaaS billing model eliminates billing surprises and keeps costs deterministic for clients.

Industry Standard API Specs

All Blip services use multi-factor security for secure access to API endpoints. Interfaces are designed to be RESTful and follow the same usage based billing protocols as for standard