02/27/2008

Rollbase today released an on-demand application development and delivery platform and opened up its public beta program, offering a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) for nontechnical users.

ebizQ received the following:

Business users, IT professionals and Web developers can use Rollbase to design, develop and deploy custom Web-based applications using highly intuitive and interactive tools within a standard Web browser. By providing an easy to learn and flexible toolset in a rich AJAX-based user experience, Rollbase makes rapid Web-based application development possible for people who may not have the time, resources or expertise to create on-demand applications using traditional software development methods.

Most Flexible Platform-as-a-Service for Business Users

The Rollbase platform offers many competitive advantages, including:

• Easy to use wizards for creating database tables, fields, relationships and other application components



• Highly interactive drag and drop page editor with ability to embed any HTML, scripts or widgets



• Unique portal technology for building sophisticated external-facing applications that can be embedded in other Web sites and Web-based applications



• Powerful workflow engine with automation, trigger conditions and event queue management



• Advanced search engine with global full text search and field-specific indexing control



• Conversion maps for seamless integration between and among all Rollbase applications



• Custom ad-hoc reporting, 2D and 3D animated real-time charting



• Application Directory for sharing and installing applications built by other Rollbase users

All Rollbase applications are designed, developed and deployed using a standard Web browser and run on the Rollbase platform as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications that require no additional hardware or software infrastructure. Rollbase is the first PaaS developed specifically for business users that allows the creation of sophisticated applications, which can extend beyond the user interface framework of the application builder itself.

Beta users of Rollbase have received it with enthusiasm. Matt Ireland of Mortgage Choice, Australia’s leading mortgage broker, has worked with the platform in its beta stage. “I’ve been able to use Rollbase to rapidly develop some very useful tools for our business without wasting any time having to learn the product,” he said. “This is the future of software development.”

The Rollbase Application Directory

Cloud computing platforms are completely changing the way applications are developed and delivered. In conjunction with the Rollbase Platform, the Rollbase Application Directory is an on-demand application sharing service allowing users to browse, test drive and install Rollbase-powered applications with a single click. Experienced Rollbase users and partners can also publish their own applications to the directory. The Application Directory has been seeded with 12 initial applications – and many more to come - designed by Rollbase employees.

“Our seed applications provide examples of the powerful capabilities that make Rollbase the most flexible PaaS for business users available today,” said Matt Robinson, co-founder and CEO of Rollbase. “These range from collaborative enterprise applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) and a suite of integrated HR applications, to external-facing, community building applications such as discussion forums and an idea exchange. All of these applications were built using standard Rollbase features by our in-house support and services staff with no back-end programming experience, and can be installed today into any Rollbase account.”