UI the next platform step for Salesforce.com

By Barney Beal, News Director 14 Sep 2007 | SearchCRM.com

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Dubbed Force.com, the latest move builds on the San Francisco-based company's AppExchange, an online repository of on-demand applications, and Apex, a Java-like programming language the company unveiled at last year's Dreamforce. Customers can tailor Salesforce.com's technology to their needs and have it hosted by Salesforce.com offsite, accessible via the Internet. In addition, earlier this year, the company began offering a Platform edition, which does not require users to buy a CRM license. Those will be combined under the Force.com umbrella with a new development set to be unveiled next week. Visualforce, a tool that lets users create their own user interface for on-demand applications based on the Apex code, will be previewed at the San Francisco show.

"Like last year, when we pulled the top back and gave users and partners access to the business logic, we're now allowing full access to the user interface layer," said Adam Gross, vice president of developer marketing. "You can build any user interface you can imagine. Applications will not look, feel or behave in any way like the traditional Salesforce.com application. In many cases, you won't be able to know."

Users will be able to shift around existing user interfaces with new wizards and processes. Features will include a pages capability, allowing developers to create new pages; components, allowing developers to assemble existing Salesforce.com UI elements and reuse them and custom designed components; and logic controllers, which can reuse standard Salesforce.com UI behavior like new. For example, Salesforce.com adapted its application for Apple's iPhone, and it could potentially be used to adapt applications for kiosks or tablet PCs.

Pricing will start at $25 per user per month and vary depending on the number of platform capabilities an organization requires. Visualforce will be available as a developer preview for Dreamforce attendees and is scheduled to be generally available in the fourth quarter.

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