Feature
Nearly a year after announcing it, Salesforce has given a summer release date for its Chatter based Communities offering.
Portals + Social Business = Salesforce Communities
Upon its announcement in August 2012, Communities was supposed to go live by the end of the year. When it finally does go live, customers will be able to connect with partners, vendors, private groups and other customers all in one place. Communities is meant to be a portal and social business space rolled into one.
This is why Salesforce is so successful. It builds the tools businesses need, and then connects them all together in one place. This all in one concept is widely followed in the enterprise space because it gives customers the control they want and the security they need.
In this case, the ability to connect behind the firewall data to outward facing customers and partners all through the same interface. Partners and customers log in to Communities, and they can find the people, information and documents they need without having to click around the website to find it.
Collaborate on projects and serve customers in one place with Salesforce Communities.
Summer is the only release info given (no dates), but we also now have a price for Communities. Salesforce said it will start at US $500 per month.
Salesforce UK Data Center Groundbreaking
Salesforce has been doing brisk business in Europe over the last handful of quarters, so it has begun building its first UK based data center to keep up with demand. It's to be ready by 2014, and is under construction in Slough, Berkshire, about 25 miles from London.
Supposedly, it will run on 100% renewable energy, and it will be the company's sixth such data center worldwide. It has three in the US, one in Japan and another in Singapore.
