Enterprise cloud computing company Salesforce.com and Adobe Systems have unveiled a new offering that combines the Force.com platform with Adobe Flash Platform to build new cloud-based rich internet applications (RIAs).
The Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com is a jointly developed integrated development environment (IDE) that provides a single tool for building cloud-based RIAs, which can be deployed to end users through the browser using the Adobe Flash Player or directly to the desktop via Adobe AIR.
The companies said that developers can use Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com to extend or enhance existing Salesforce CRM implementations and custom-built Force.com applications, or build entirely new applications to provide customised user experiences for any business requirement. It allows developers to add interactive user interface features such as drag and drop, to shorten application learning curves, increase user acceptance and improve productivity; and data visualisations such as charts and dashboards.
The Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com includes eclipse-based IDE unifying Adobe Flash Builder and the Force.com IDE into a common productive environment for building Force.com applications; code-editor, design-view, browser and cross platform compatibility; data visualisations including built-in interactive charting and animation components capable of processing large data sets, the company said.
In addition, the combined offering includes pre-built integration with Adobe LiveCycle Data Services for client-side data management and synchronisation services, automatically synchronising data between the Force.com database and an Adobe AIR secure local data store on the client, allowing developers to build apps that span connected and disconnected environments.
Ariel Kelman, vice president of platform product marketing at salesforce.com, said: Adobe and salesforce.com share a common vision for accelerating developer success with cloud computing. Bringing together Adobe Flash Platform and Force.com will enable the creation of exciting new kinds of business applications that run in the cloud and are as compelling and easy to use as the best of the consumer web.
The developer preview of Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com is available on the salesforce.com developer web site and the final delivery is expected to be available in the first half of 2010.
