In December 2010, Salesforce launched its database engine service called Database.com. The service specifically targets cloud application developers as its customers.
Salesforce Database Open to Subscribers
For some, it sounds like Salesforce is trying to form a backend system for the entire Internet using Database.com. In truth, with this service, the intention of Salesforce is to open up the database that they have been using in running the Salesforce CRM app itself. But it’s more than that.
Together with the power to use Salesforce’s database, subscribers can get a full complement of security controls and developer tools. In essence, this is similar to Amazon’s aim to make available its own infrastructure to their subscribers via the Amazon Web Services.
Benefits
The service comes with the following benefits:
- Salesforce is using the same database that has been trusted by tens of thousands of customers for more than a decade now. The technology and infrastructure of this database are simply dependable.
- Database.com is applicable on any device, platform and language. It can be used to power enterprise applications that are social, mobile and cloud.
- It allows developers to have a better focus on developing brilliant apps. The service is taking away from them the headaches of hardware and database management and maintenance.
- Subscribers stand to take advantage of the database’s automatic elasticity. This is because the database is designed for Internet-scale operations. Users can use its automatic tuning, backup, replication and upgrade features. The database can also process automatic formation of sandboxes for development, training and testing.
- Database.com has great enterprise search services. These services allow developers to conduct searches that do not violate rules on enterprise security.
The service is free for new customers. Upon signing up, basic services will be available to you. These include automatic administration, file storage and database access.