Building Integration Into Your Cloud Apps and Platforms

Last week I hosted an Informatica Cloud webinar that featured speakers from salesforce.com and Xactly that focused on building next generation cloud applications and platforms. I’m trying really hard not to use the term “SMAC Stack,”  but it is truly all about ensuring your solutions are built for Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud…not to mention Big Data. I’ll post the recording later this week – there was a good discussion about the importance of multitenancy, which as the comments from this post indicate continues to be a hot topic of debate. Are you considering the building blocks of Social Enterprise apps? Are you building interoperability and integration into your strategy from the outset?

Building Next Generation Cloud Apps: Salesforce, Informatica, Xactly from Darren Cunningham

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Video: Unlock your SAP Back Office with Force.com

This Salesforce.com demonstration  is a great example of the power of cloud integration.

 

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SAP, meet Force.com #socialenterprise

Image via CrunchBase

Last week salesforce.com launched a new campaign targeted at SAP customers: “Unlock your back office and become a social enterprise.” The message is clear – build a layer of agility around your legacy ERP system and immediately increase the business value of your existing investment.

SAP, meet Force.com…

How is this possible, you ask?

“By unlocking and extending the data trapped in your SAP ERP deployment with mobile and social apps built on Force.com.”

The campaign clearly highlights the benefits of establishing the right cloud integration strategy early. It also highlights specific cloud application integration and data management partners, which is nice to see.

Here’s a presentation outlining some of the considerations, best practices as well as an Informatica Cloud demonstration of SAP and Salesforce integration. I’ll also be hosting a webinar this week that will focus on Oracle EBS integration with salesforce.com. Clearly cloud integration is in the spotlight.

Salesforce and SAP Integration with Informatica Cloud

View more presentations from Darren Cunningham

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Dreamforce Video on Hybrid IT: The Importance of Integration to Salesforce Success

Here’s the video on the Salesforce.com YouTube Channel: Hybrid IT – The Importance of Integration to Salesforce CRM and Force.com success. You can also view the slides on Slideshare as well as review some of the cloud integration highlights from the conference here.

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Cloud in Action Interview: From Cloud Skeptical to Cloud First

I posted an interview yesterday on the Sandhill.com blog with an IT thought leader in the financial services industry: From Cloud Skeptical to Cloud Curious to Cloud First. A few highlights:

“In the past I wasn’t building and managing infrastructure in the cloud, but rather using applications to perform end-user tasks. With the evolution of solutions like Amazon Web Services (AWS), salesforce.com and Informatica Cloud, my thinking has evolved to the point where I believe corporations can build out their entire application infrastructure in the Public Cloud. “

“….the only obstacles to businesses moving applications to the cloud right now are:

• Cost
• Connectivity Speed
• Lack of familiarity on behalf of in-house IT teams”

You can read the entire interview here.

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The Increasing Importance of Cloud Data Replication

Last week we hosted a webinar on cloud data replication, with a particular focus on Salesforce CRM and Force.com. The level of interest and interaction was amazing. Whether the use case is back-up, compliance or business intelligence, having a flexible and cloud-based approach to cloud data replication is clearly critical to software as a service (SaaS) application and platform success. You can check out the recording here.

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Informatica Cloud Express for Salesforce.com

Last week we hosted a webinar to introduce Informatica Cloud Express, a usage-based cloud integration service for Salesforce CRM and Force.com customers. Here is the presentation with an embedded demonstration.

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Cloud Integration Customer Success

Ever wonder what the benefits are of having the right strategy for cloud integration?

Here is a summary of two Salesforce.com customers who integrate CRM and on-premise applications, databases and files. The first is a mid-sized company that enabled nontechnical business users to perform self-service cloud-based data integration. Benefits include:

• Enhanced the accuracy and timeliness of enterprise data for better business decisions
• Helped the company compete more successfully in a challenging building supplies market
• Introduced 360-degree, near real-time, dashboard view of business operations
• Improved customer service via launch of innovative customer portal and other initiatives
• Reduced the cost and risk associated with managing technology
• Increased cost control though improved agent and customer credit checking and management
• Increased the reliability and availability of critical operational data

Download the case study here.

The second is a Global 2000 enterprise that introduced a fast, low-risk route to data replication as service for analytical reporting purposes. Benefits include:

• Reduced the time required to prepare certain reports from days to minutes
• Allowed the organization to make faster, more accurate decisions, based on a single version ofthe truth
• Ensured delivery of timely, relevant, and trustworthy information throughout the organization
• Saved money using low-cost subscription-based pricing
• Enabled more robust reporting and analysis on Salesforce.com data
• Leveraged existing skills in on-premise reporting tools to build better, faster reports

Download the case study here.

Jim Cramer on Salesforce.com…and an Art History Lesson

I haven’t watched this guy since he was blown up by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, but he provided an over-the-top introduction of salesforce.com for this Marc Benioff and I just had to share it here. Thanks to @CRMFYI for posting it on his great site Salesforce Video Channel.

Salesforce.com Product and Price Book Master Synchronization

Moving product and pricing master data into Salesforce CRM and the Force.com platform? This is a very common use case for data integration as a service. Check out these two videos to see how it’s done with the Informatica Cloud.

Part I:

Part II:

For more information visit www.informaticacloud.com.