Force.com + Google App Engine = Cloud Relationship Management
Salesforce and Google have extended their strategic partnership with Force.com for Google App Engine, essentially bridging the two cloud-based application development environments. App Engine applications, which are typically consumer apps, will be able to access enterprise data and services via the Force.com API.
The integration consists of a Python library, example code, and testing harness that allows App Engine apps to read and write to Force.com. As an example, Salesforce executives demoed for me a hybrid application that combined a game interface built on App Engine that allowed visitors to Harrah’s website the ability to win additional points and upgrade their experience in the actual Las Vegas casino.
Only a month ago Salesforce announced a new Sites service, which allows Force.com customers to host not only internal Salesforce and App Force applications but the public-facing Web site. The App Engine integration combines consumer-facing apps built and hosted on the Google cloud with line-of-business data stored, accessed, and hosted on the Salesforce cloud. In essence, it’s the first federation between two clouds - or as CEO Marc Benioff might label it, CaaS, or Clouds as a Service.