Salesforce.com: What is cloud computing?

By Nick Hortovanyi

This is a great video from Salesforce.com explaining Cloud Computing.

Tags cloud+computing salesforce video   |  Comments 0

Google apps for your domain - practicing what I teach

By Nick Hortovanyi

For a while we have been running our own email server with a postfix setup using google apps for your domain (GAFYD) for calendar services. I'd setup GAFYD under a different domain from toasttechnology.com (yes, it was a little untidy) and also wanted to integrate everything in salesforce.com with a complete integrated move to the cloud.

It didn't take very long at all to create a new toasttechnology.com GAFYD setup including updating the DNS entry per google's instructions.  If you do it yourself, watch out for the first couple of days, as some emails may still arrive at your previous email server's IP address. It was also easy to integrate google apps with salesforce.com. Now I can send an email directly inside of salesforce.com through gmail and have it recorded against the appropriate contact.

I should of done this ages ago, as now I'm using IMAP so it doesn't matter from where I view an email or from where I send it. All devices including my iPod touch are updated. As I've made the move, and haven't had any troubles, I'm confident now to recommend it to others.

Tags salesforce apps google email gafyd   |  Comments 0

Cloud computing from the couch

By Nick Hortovanyi

I found this panel discussion from a new twitter follower today lucidera. It gives great insight into how some of the market leaders in this space perceive the future of SaaS businesses.

Tags google oracle cloud salesforce saas amazon sap adobe   |  Comments 0

Getting off of SaaS

By Nick Hortovanyi

The SaaS purist are always suggesting that a key characteristic of a true SaaS service provider, is to have the ability for it's clients to easily take their data and move to another service. Whilst in principle I agree with this, I think clarification is required.

If you've been using a properitary system like SAP, your data is in their format, stored in some relational database system. Its near impossible to migrate to another ERP, without a considerable amount of work.

The key point is that for the most part, there is no common way, to describe and hence then store your data in some intermediate format. This would hold true, regardless if the service was on-premise or off-premise.

Now I'm looking at Salesforce.com, and am trying to investigate the work required to move to say SugarCRM, either hosted myself or by an on-demand provider. Are there tools available for me to export my complete CRM data from Salesforce.com and then import into SugarCRM? Not that I can find.

I'm not saying that I don't like Salesforce.com. In fact, I'm liking the tool but believe there may be cheaper options that are more appropriate for our circumstances. For example I want to integrate to our existing LDAP server and also maybe to my local Apple Address Book on my Mac Book Pro.

Now Salesforce, gives me means to export data through reports. I haven't tried it yet, but looking at the process, it seems to have all the fields, including the additional ones that I created. Thus I can export data in some form, to potentially be loaded elsewhere. But this is not the same as the expectations that I think most users would have to then be able to utilise it quickly on the new service. Whilst there is some flexibility on importing information into Salesforce, for existing accounts and contacts. I can already see that the history of what has occurred would possible be lost.

But Salesforce is regarded as a leader in the SaaS space. Yet the capabilities are not there as readily, I would say, as the purists would expect to export or import my complete data. I think, for most users, once the commitment has been made to utilise the service, that they acknowledge that the real commitment, will be longer then the life of the initial subscription.

The need to export data, and in what format, can only be determined, at this time, once a new service has been selected. Correct me if I'm wrong here? SaaS providers can tick the box, they can placate some of the Purists, but is it really what the person paying the bills want?

Tags sugarcrm salesforce crm saas data vendor life+cycle   |  Comments 0