Ever since the ‘- as a Service’ trend started, there has been no looking back. One of the more recent acronyms is DaaS, which is up for grabs with varied meanings such as Data as a Service, Development as a Service, and Desktop as a Service. This week, we’ll discuss Development as a Service, which is being touted by Salesforce.com as their on-demand platform for developers.
DaaS consists of a new set of development tools and APIs that allow enterprise developers to harness cloud computing and develop applications without the need for software and hardware client/server architecture. It is an extension of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) as it allows developers to build, test and deploy applications using tools provided within the hosted platform.
The DaaS platform offered by Salesforce.com includes a set of features with the ability to create database applications on demand, a workflow engine for managing collaboration between users, and a Web services API for programmatic access along with mashups and integration with other applications and data. Full access to the database, logic, user interface and other capabilities of the Force.com platform allows easy development of enterprise software.
Earlier, ISVs used various development tools to build their products and most new development had to be started from scratch. But with the shift now towards web-based/on-demand applications and the easy availability of development frameworks in the cloud, it is probably a wise decision for start-up ISVs to tap existing infrastructure and services and build on top of it, and focus their efforts on business innovation
While it means less re-invention of the wheel and freedom from maintenance and upgrades for developers, ISVs also can gain from DaaS. It acts as a marketing channel for ISVs where they can place their products in front of several businesses seeking innovative business solutions. Of course, ISVs will have to ensure that their target market will overlap significantly with the platform users and that they do not get locked-in to the platform to their disadvantage.
