The Real Reason We Joined Automation Alley

In this community, startups have a dizzying array of programs to help them get off the ground. At DevHive, we have taken advantage of several of these programs, all of which were helpful. However, at some point, you reach a saturation point. You simply can't bear to sit through another 60-minute lecture on how to identify your target market. So when the Automation Alley approached me and asked DevHive to join their association, I kind of put it on the back burner.

However, an acquaintance at another startup recently told me that the best thing they had done at their company was to join Automation Alley. Not only did he feel like the networking was invaluable, but he told me a story about how, one day, another member popped in from out of the blue and handed them a list of all his target customers. He was blown away that someone would be so helpful. Now that got my attention. Prospects and networking with real businesspeople...those are real reasons to join a professional organization.

Thank you, Salesforce, for Spreading the PaaS Gospel

Yesterday's WSJ had an excellent article on Salesforce.com's vision for the future of software development. Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, talks about Salesforce's long-term commitment in the long-term to Platform-as-a-Service [emphasis added]:

So our first 10 years were all about making [software as a service] mainstream. I think our second 10 years will be all about making the platform-as-a-service mainstream -- and I do think it will take that long.

Also yesterday, Robert Scoble--reporting from the World Economic Forum in Davos--posted a video interview with Marc Benioff. Again, Marc talks extensively about force.com, Salesforce's web platform and restates his commitment to it as the future of software.

When talking to people about DevHive, I get asked a lot about Salesforce.com (in fact, I got asked about them this morning). My answer is simple: we LOVE that Salesforce.com is committed to Platform-as-a-Service. Why? Because they are evangelizing the concept to every customer, every analyst, and every writer that they talk to. They are creating a market that will be bigger than just Salesforce, and everyone in the space profits from their work. Second, DevHive has real, valuable differences from the Saleforce.com platform:

• DevHive's platform is built on open standards. Salesforce.com is built on proprietary technology. They have created their own programming language, proprietary data services, and so on. This is *not* a bad business strategy (see: MSFT); however, anytime the market supports a proprietary solution, there is room for an open alternative.
• DevHive's component repository addresses the real pain with custom application development--the cost of people. 90% of the cost of a custom application is people, not infrastructure. DevHive's component repository enables developers to reuse code, cutting the cost and time of development in half. Salesforce does not offer anything to match that functionality.

As a result, at DevHive we are cheering for Salesforce. Every article that they get published in WSJ...every interview they get with Scoble...means that more and more people hear about, understand, and believe that Platform-as-a-Service will change the way that enterprise software will be built. And that helps us all.