Site Archives

Vendor Lock-in: Not new. Not gone, no matter what they say.


We’ve had our fair share of vendor lock-in (handcuff) discussions on this blog. 
Vendor lock-in issues do in fact exist in SaaS platforms, and although platform providers might use a little smoke and mirrors to avert your attention from the handcuffs that exist, you should be aware that utilizing a proprietary platform means that it comes with some […]

Web 2.0 vs. SOA…huh?!?


Although the posts are old and the topic potentially stale, I recently read a few posts creating a Celebrity Death Match style arena for SOA and Web 2.0. Richard Monson-Haefel of the I, Analyst blog posted a comparison highlighting the similarities but describing SOA as missing the “social aspect”, Don Hinchcliffe has a good thorough treatise on […]

“Get ‘R Done” Architectures Just Won’t Cut It With SaaS


Eric Norlin of the SaasCon Revolution blog posted an article titled “Iteration 2.0” The article outlines point of view (POV) uniqueness when it comes to leveraging the SaaS EcoSystem. The article broke down leveraging into three major POVs: Corporate Deployer, ISV, and Developer. While reading the section “For the ISV”, I had a light-switch moment. […]

Going From Software Developer to SaaS Developer Without Giving Up The Ghost


Is transitioning from traditional enterprise software development to SaaS delivery becoming a necessary evil of a tech boom that makes established development firms quiver in fear?  We know how platforms aim to empower SaaS startups; the buzz about Apex earlier this week illustrates that much.  But while enablement solutions - platforms - aim to lower barriers for […]

The State of SaaS


For all of my technological ranting related to Salesforce.com and Apex, as well as the mini debates that unfurled around it, I would like to take a moment and reflect over the past year and include Salesforce in a congratulation of sorts. I know, its not a new year or anything, but the release of Apex […]

Think Historically When Choosing a SaaS Platform


At the turning point in the plot of my favorite ‘just for fun’ movie, Antitrust, the crooked software mogul Gary Winston mistakenly exposes his evildoings to the hero software programmer, Milo, by making the following statement:
“The answer’s not in the box, it’s in the band” 
In the movie, the phrase is used in reference to compression algorithms that Gary stole […]

Where’s the “App” in AppExchange?


Ok, ok, I’m starting to feel bad writing about Salesforce.com. Well, maybe not. Someone has to do it, right? This week is Dreamforce, where Salesforce runs ’round town tooting their own horn much to the chagrin of individuals who feel their vision isn’t so hot. In all seriousness, why do some of us not see Salesforce […]

Salesforce.com’s Apex: Benioff’s Handcuffs for On Demand


When I first read of the Apex rumor, (Salesforce.com’s new “on demand programming language and platform”) over at Salesforcewatch.com, I started monitoring some of the various blogs and sites I regularly read for related news. I was hoping to find some tidbits of information that aren’t part of Salesforce.com’s marketing spiel. After Salesforce’s official Apex announcement, I found […]

On Service Delivery Platforms for SaaS


As usual, Fred Chong has posted another great article, this time directly addressing the space of what he calls an SDP, or “Service Delivery Platform.” In short, an SDP is a platform that allow for the deployment and delivery of a SaaS application. This notion of SDP is what will be one of the driving […]

Kudos to the U.S.A.


I just wanted to say that I’m impressed with our country’s results in the awarding of Nobel Prizes! So far, people from the U.S. have secured all the prize announcements, which have been: medicine, physics, and chemistry. Who says the U.S. is behind in the sciences? The remaining prizes are economics, peace, and literature. Let’s […]