In a move that many are sure to see as direct competition against database heavyweight Oracle and Microsoft's SQL Azure platform, Salesforce.com on Tuesday unveiled its open, cloud-based database platform, Database.com.
Part of Salesforce.com's product arsenal already includes Force.com; its application development platform. So what exactly are the differences between Database.com and Force.com?
Database.com is a database. It will allow customers to develop applications for social, cloud, and mobile on the same platform on which Salesforce.com is built. The big advantage being cited is flexibility-applications can be written in any language and run on many different platforms including Force.com, VMforce, Amazon EC2, Google AppEngine, Heroku, and Microsoft Azure. Customers can also port existing databases to Database.com.
These apps can also run natively on any device, like an Android phone, Blackberry, iPad, or iPhone. These apps can all call the Database.com APIs securely over the Internet. These can be small apps needed by only a few users, or massive apps capable of scaling to support hundreds of thousands of users. User interfaces must be built by a developer using a platform of the developer's choice.
Force.com is an application development platform. Unlike Database.com it features point-and-click app development, has a home page, Chatter UI and other components for reporting and analytics. Salesforce mobile is also a component of Force.com. However, with Database.com, users can build native apps for mobile devices. Force.com and Database.com can be used together or separately.
Database.com is currently scheduled to be generally available as a standalone service in 2011. It will be free to get started. Basic Database.com services, including database access, file storage, and automatic administration, will be available beginning at: free for three users, and up to 100,000 records and 50,000 transactions/month; $10/month for each set of 100,000 records beyond that; and $10/month for each set of 150,000 transactions beyond that. Enterprises can opt for Database.com Enterprise services for $10/user/month which includes user identity, authentication, and row-level security access controls.
Salesforce is emphasizing the security. Database.com leverages Salesforce.com's global service delivery infrastructure, offering SSL, single-sign on, identity confirmation and anti-phishing tools. The platform has also received several certifications including ISO 27001, SAS 70 Type II and SysTrust. Users can give Database.com a try by signing up for a free Force.com account.
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