Salesforce.com unveiled their latest goodies at Dreamforce’05 – the so-called AppExchange, which is based on their successful CustomForce offering, a number of API that makes creating custom apps a snap. The AppExchange is a step further in solidifying the idea that SFDC is not just an application vendor. They want to be a platform vendor. That is where the real money lies. Once you have a proven platform, you create an eco-system. While your partners and developers make some money, you reap the most benefits.
SFDC CEO Marc Benioff claimed in his SF Chronicle interview on Sunday that: “he wants people stop buying software from Microsoft” instead, people should just lease software as a service from his company. Microsoft, be worried!
“With AppExchange, salesforce.com has cracked the code of what we call application syndication — an efficient way to create and distribute a wide array of on-demand applications,” said Sheryl Kingstone of The Yankee Group. “No other vendor comes close to matching this vision.”