Cloud computing should do much more than merely relocate the current delays, risks, and costs of application development. Peter Coffee, former Technology Editor of eWEEK, explores the status and prospects of the multi-product, multi-vendor cloud, where complementary services offer proven development leverage and enable next-generation business processes. Presented to 2010 Convention of Chinese-American Engineers and Scientists Association of Southern California on 24 April in San Gabriel, CA.
Moving Beyond Migration: Reinventing Process in the Cloud
1. Moving Beyond Migration:
Re-Inventing Process in the Cloud
Peter Coffee
Director of Platform Research
salesforce.com
2. The Cloud as a Multi-Product Marketplace
Platform as a Service PaaS as Enterprise
“Servers as a Service”
(PaaS) for the Application Framework
Inquiring Developer
Virtual
Servers Programmable Programmable User
Cloud Logic Interface
Virtual
Servers Python/Java
Virtual
Application Server Real-Time Workflow Integrated Content
Servers & Approvals Library
Database as a Service Database as a Service Unlimited Real-Time
Customization
Granular Security &
Sharing
Infrastructure as a Service Infrastructure as a Service Infrastructure as a Service
~Familiar Developer Model β Offering Supports Large-Scale SaaS
Rapid Scalability Innovative Technology Deep-Dyed Multitenancy
3. What it Means to Promise “The Cloud”
Moving toward an ideal: “Zero, One, Infinity”*
0 On-premise infrastructure
Acquisition cost
Adoption cost
Support cost
1 Coherent and resilient environment – not a brittle “software stack”
∞ Scalability in response to changing need
Integratability/Interoperability with legacy assets and other services
Customizability/Programmability from data, through logic,
up into the user interface without compromising robust multi-tenancy
* From The Jargon File: “Allow none of foo, exactly one of foo, or any number of foo”
4. Cloud Security: No Need for Excuses
Facility Security Network Security Platform Security
• 24x365 on site security • Fault tolerant external firewall • SSL data encryption
• Biometric readers, man traps • Intrusion detection systems • Optional strict password policies
• Anonymous exterior • Best practices secure systems mgmt • SAS 70 Type II & SysTrust Certification
• Silent alarm • 3rd party vulnerability assessments • Security certifications from Fortune 50
• CCTV financial services customers
• Motion detection • May 2008: ISO 27001 Certification
• N+1 infrastructure
“There are some strong technical security arguments in favor of Cloud
Computing… (Craig Balding, Fortune 500 security practitioner)
5. Cloud Integration: No Need for Rip/Replace
Mash-ups from Native Integration Developer
Native ERP
Web and Desktop Partner Toolkits
Connectors
AppExchange Connectors Ecosystem
6. In Search of Platform Leverage
A path of least resistance to high-function applications
Unlimited Real-Time Granular Security & 80+ Million Lines of 245,000 Workflow Rules 312,000 UI
Customization Sharing Cloud Logic and Approvals Customizations
Real-Time Mobile Integrated Content Real-Time 800+ Integrated
Deployment Real-Time Websites Library Analytics Applications
ISO 27001, SAS 70 Type II Proven Proven Scalability Real-Time Query Real-Time
Certified Security Reliability (15 billion transactions/Q2) Optimizer Upgrades
Proven Real-Time Sandbox Salesforce to 3 Global Data Centers Real-Time Transparent
Real-Time integration Environments Salesforce Sharing & Disaster Recovery System Status
Multi-Tenant Kernel
7. Enterprise Clouds Enable Deep Customization
Build strategic applications
Your Clicks
User Interface
Customize any aspect
Logic Upgrade when convenient
Your Code
Database Preserve IP control
Metadata representations:
Rigorously partitioned data, logic and customizations for multiple customers
Coherent Code Base and Managed Infrastructure
Coherent Code Base and Managed Infrastructure
8. Development Reinvented, not Just Relocated
Nucleus Research analyzed Force.com deployments: found
average 4.9 times faster development (range 1.5x-10x)
versus Java or .Net
– Custom objects
– Administrative tools
– Workflow engine
– Pre-tested platform
Galorath Inc. compared developers’ Force.com productivity to
Java development
– Requirements definition time reduced 25% due to rapid prototyping
– Testing effort reduced by (typically) more than 10%
– Development productivity of new code 5x greater
– Overall project cost 30-40% less
CustomerSat sampled more than 1,100 Force.com
development teams during summer 2009
– Average experience: 4 applications deployed to date
– Average project cost savings: 48%
– Average project acceleration: 5.1x
9. The Force.com Visual Process Manager
How it works
Process Designer Wizard Builder
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Process Simulator Real-time Process Engine
10. Visual Process Designer
Easy visual authoring
Multiple process types &
templates
Real-time process
simulation
Extensible plug-in
architecture
11. UI Wizard Builder
Rapidly Create Wizards
Requires no Code
Walk users through multi-
step processes
Dynamic decisions and
branching
Displayed as Mashups in UI
12. Process Simulator
Process walkthroughs
UI displayed in Simulator
Conflict resolution
Auto verification
13. Real-time Process Engine
Multi-tenant
Multiple process types &
templates
Real-time process
simulation
Extensible plug-in
architecture
14. Real-World Results: Financial Services
The Phoenix Companies sought a new CRM solution with flexibility, ease of use,
mobile accessibility, low-cost modification capabilities, minimal user training
requirements, and simplified integration with other apps.
Changeover to Salesforce CRM took less than two months. Working with
salesforce.com partner OKERE (now part of Fujitsu Consulting), Phoenix used the
Force.com platform to create customizations for contracts and underwriting.
Using the Force.com API, Phoenix integrated several legacy systems with
Salesforce CRM to provide consolidated, real-time access to information.
The Salesforce CRM implementation cost the company less than one-fourth of the
project’s original budget.
By streamlining communication between field and inside sales within Salesforce
CRM, Phoenix has reduced phone and email inefficiencies, boosted productivity,
and, in 2005, increased life insurance sales by more than 33%.
Following its upgrade to Salesforce CRM Unlimited Edition, Phoenix achieved 96%
user adoption.
15. Real-World Results: Professional Services
Animators at Law, a leading provider of litigation graphics, litigation consulting &
litigation technology for many of the largest law firms, pioneered a unique system
for identifying the litigation activities of law firms and corporations and wanted to
make the data available to third parties through a subscription-based service.
In just a few months – with no added development staff – the team created
LawProspector, the first comprehensive sales lead and litigation market
intelligence tool. The application, built on the Force.com platform, integrates with
Salesforce CRM Enterprise Edition and Salesforce CRM Partner Networks.
LawProspector is integrated with applications from the Force.com AppExchange.
LinkedIn for Salesforce, enables users to access LinkedIn information directly
from Salesforce CRM contact and account records, and Account News Feed
powered by Google News displays relevant news items from Google alongside
Salesforce CRM records.
16. Real-World Results: Green Manufacturing
Vetrazzo, a leader in the rapidly growing market of recycled glass countertops,
required an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system it could customize to
handle its unique manufacturing processes. The eco-friendly small business
lacked the budget and personnel required to purchase and implement a
traditional on-premise ERP system.
Without an IT department, executives wanted to avoid having to purchase and
manage hardware infrastructure. The company needed a Web-based solution
for its national staff that could handle anticipated growth.
With the help of salesforce.com partner The Claiborne Company, Vetrazzo
expanded on a prototype to build an ERP system customized to fit its specific
business processes. The company’s custom apps include Customer Service and
Order Management; Finished Goods Inventory Management; Production
Planning and Scheduling; Raw Materials Management; Shipping and Logistics;
Document Management, and Warranty Management.
Planned integration with Quickbooks will tie in financials.
17. How “The Cloud” Creates Communities
It’s hard to add security to a tool that shares by default
It’s possible to add social tools to a proven trust model
18. The New Conversation
Take the workplace from
Newton to Einstein
– Not a static space defined
by an org chart
– A relativistic space, dynamically
redefined by relationships
of people and events
Enable a social component
in every Force.com app
– Current apps simply acquire
the new behavior
19. Visually Programmed Business Rules
More powerful than formulas, easier than Apex
Business rule evaluates to true
+
• Use with assignment, escalation, validation rules, etc.
• Call out to external systems
• Execute asynchronously, in batch, or scheduled
20. Social Business Processes
The intersection between Chatter & VPM
Collaborative
process creation &
maintenance
Best practice
sharing
Andrew Leigh. I need to create a
Integration with new customer service process for
the iPad, can you guys help?
feeds and other
New process created: iPad Tier 1
social channels Support Process (Goals: Run
time, 5 min)
Social process Steve Wood. Great – I can help
with the case escalation by linking
monitoring in the Apple Escalation Process.
Varadarajan Rajaram. Yes, I know
this product well – there are a
bunch of solutions I can build into
this process.
21. Where ISVs Can Find Their Future
Service Provider Trust
Low Cost of Entry
Faster Time to Market
Assured Interoperability
22. Peter Coffee
Director of Platform Research
pcoffee@salesforce.com Q&A?
facebook.com/peter.coffee
twitter.com/petercoffee