Salesforce.com has announced it is accelerating the market shift to the next cloud computing paradigm, Cloud 2. The first phase of cloud computing was about leveraging technologies that were low cost, fast and easy to use on the desktop. Cloud 2 represents the next generation cloud computing, one that is inherently social, collaborative and delivers real-time access to data and information across new mobile devices.
To meet the overwhelming demand for social enterprise apps and to accelerate the shift to Cloud 2, Salesforce.com has extended the private beta program to more than 500 companies, including customers like Enterasys Networks and Saatchi & Saatchi. In addition, the company has launched the AppExchange 2, with the ChatterExchange, a new category for social enterprise applications.
"We are in the era of Cloud 2, where social networking use has surpassed e-mail, Facebook and YouTube use have outpaced search and new mobile devices like the iPad are creating entirely new ways to interact with information," said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce.com. "With today's announcement, salesforce.com is advancing the shift to Cloud 2, where productivity gains are going to come from real-time collaboration available on any device. We've seen the future of enterprise software, and it looks more like Facebook on the iPad than Yahoo on the PC."
Salesforce.com has also unveiled the AppExchange 2, which reflects the shift to Cloud 2 and now includes the ChatterExchange, a new category for social enterprise apps. Since its launch in 2005, the AppExchange has been a phenomenal success, having been called the "iTunes of Business Software" by Forbes and winning awards from the SIIA, SD Times and others.
