11/10/2003

salesforce.com, a provider of on-demand applications, unwrapped sforce 2.0, the new version of its on-demand application server.

“Open, secure and reliable, the sforce 2.0 on-demand application server is the world's first platform for creating, hosting and executing client/service applications,” the vendor says. “Sforce 2.0 allows developers to customize, integrate and extend the salesforce.com user interface, business logic and data model to support their specific business requirements with unprecedented simplicity and success.

The innovations in the sforce 2.0 on-demand application server represent a unique application of emerging development technologies, including XML, Web services and utility-based computing, rendered for the first time in a way that provides enterprises with immediate and clear benefits.

“With sforce 2.0, developers can now define custom objects specific to their needs, use new sforce controls to extend user interfaces in response to specific requirements, and take advantage of a new enterprise Web services API that makes it easier to use popular development environments such as BEA WebLogic, Borland JBuilder X or Microsoft Visual Studio.NET. The result is the ability to create CRM solutions that meet and exceed the sophistication available from traditional software-based solutions, at fraction of their complexity and cost.”

"The sforce 2.0 API represents one of the most innovative and important applications of open Web service standards to date," said Adam Bosworth, chief architect and senior vice president of advanced development, BEA Systems. "Combined with the innovations in dynamic WSDL generation and querying, this Web service represents what is possible when complexity and risk can be removed from integration. The simplicity of this new API, and the software-as-service platform model, can make enterprise-class CRM integration a reality for everyone."

The sforce 2.0 on-demand application server “is automatically delivered to more than 8,000 customers and 110,000 subscribers via the salesforce.com Winter '04 release, making it the most widely deployed Web service in the enterprise application market,” the company asserts. “Introduced in June 2003, more than 50 solution providers, 300 enterprises and 1000 developers are already using sforce to extend salesforce.com and build new applications.”

"We need a system that is extensible to our unique business requirements," said Ron Hess, CRM program manager, Neoforma, Inc. "With sforce's new custom objects and sforce controls, we're able to avoid the constraints traditionally associated with on demand solutions -- and build and deploy applications in a fraction of the time and effort as compared to traditional enterprise software."

”With sforce 2.0, enterprises can leverage the benefits of an on-demand application server to create custom solutions tailored to their specific business requirements," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. "By making the promise of Web services a reality, sforce and on-demand application development has trumped traditional enterprise software in the ability to create, host and execute client/service applications without compromise."

Included in the sforce 2.0 on-demand application server are what salesforce calls “innovative new capabilities that leverage the latest in Web services technology.”

New sforce 2.0 features include, AS DESCRIBED BY THE VENDOR:

• Sforce controls that allow developers to use popular development environments to create and extend user interfaces with active custom content and new forms. Sforce controls are deployed to and managed by sforce, eliminating the need for additional servers.



• Custom objects, which can be customized to match specific business needs. For example, to capture product return information, a custom object can now be created in sforce specific to that business process. A Web services interface is automatically created for all custom objects, making them available for back office integration via the sforce 2.0 Web services API.



• The sforce 2.0 Web services API features the introduction of a new SOAP/WDSL-based API that makes an enterprise's full data and business process model available within all modern development environments. In addition, a new partner API is available to ease the creation of solutions deployed across companies.



• The sforce Object Query Language introduced in sforce 2.0 simplifies the querying of objects through the API, via a familiar SQL-like syntax. This feature significantly simplifies coding and improves performance by supporting cursors and other concepts in a Web services compatible fashion.



• Workflow controls that can be developed to trigger business rules and automate processes, create escalation and routing rules, and automate responses for handling online inquiries from multiple sources.