Salesforce.com Opens Code to Developers With Apex Launch

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) has opened its code to outside developers for the first time with the introduction of Apex, a new multi-tenant programming language and platform. Companies will be able to use Apex to tailor or reprogram their Salesforce.com deployments or build entirely new components within the application from scratch.

Salesforce.com previously has offered developer tools and platforms with limited flexibility for companies that wanted to write applications for its third-party network.

The introduction of Apex could level the playing field for on-demand offerings and on-premise applications, Yankee Group CRM analyst Sheryl Kingstone told CRM Buyer. Up to now, most large enterprises have tended to remain with legacy software, which is far easier to customize. One downside, of course, is that upgrading such highly customized applications is very difficult.

The introduction of Apex opens up Salesforce.com and allows users to heavily customize the application and workflow. "It just about knocks out whatever competitive advantage the premise-based application offers," Kingstone said.

A Significant Move

The move to open its code is one of the most significant steps Salesforce.com has made since its introduction as a start-up more than seven years ago, said Kingstone.

Not surprisingly, Salesforce.com CEO and Chairman Marc Benioff, who has been known to indulge in hyperbole in the past, agreed. "This is the most important announcement Salesforce.com has ever made," he said. "With Apex, developers from our ISVs (independent software vendors) and customers will be able to write code that runs natively on our infrastructure, providing them with the same capability as our own Salesforce.com developers."

Apex augurs the beginning of an entirely new development cycle for the company, according to Kingstone. Next year, "Salesforce.com will be introducing more intelligent processes and deep customization tools," she predicted. "Users will be able to embed personal intelligence into the application."

Kingstone expects that further down the road, larger users will be able to syndicate the applications they build to their own customers.

How It Works

Apex will run on Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) architecture in Salesforce.com data centers using Dell's new 1x50 architecture. Code that is created with Apex will be multi-tenant and encapsulated to protect customer implementations against flaws, and automatically upgraded in conjunction with Salesforce.com, the company explains.

Apex will be a Java-like development language. Anything built using it can be made available as a Web service and is accessible via SOAP (simple object access protocol) and XML (extensible markup language) standards, Salesforce.com also said. The Apex platform will provide capabilities for embedded mashups, analytics, mobility, workflow and approvals, and deliver intelligence with a new API (application program interface). Apex components and applications can be shared via Salesforce.com's AppExchange directory.

The Apex platform is scheduled for availability in conjunction with Salesforce Winter '07, and the Apex language is scheduled for availability in the first half of 2007.