Welcome to the Appirio Tech Blog

The team here at Appirio spends a lot of time building innovative plugins, apps and even complete business solutions using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technologies from Google and salesforce.com. We like how easy it is to build these solutions-- that's what makes cloud computing so different (and so disruptive). But easy isn't automatic (no matter what your boss thinks). That's why we're writing this blog.

Internally, the Appirio team talks a lot about design patterns, issues, work arounds and cool tricks to make it build on use web platforms. It fun to find a new way to solve a problem and a badge of honor to see who can do it with the "least lines of code".

We want you to be a part of our conversation. Why? So that you get as excited as we are about the power of cloud computing and can build your own cool applications. This blog is for you if want to build on the cloud, whether you are a power-admin or an apex wizard, whether you are a longtime Salesforce and Google customer or just getting started, whether you are an individual contributor or are managing an entire team of developers. We won't have code in every post, but we'll definitely be thinking about it.

Here are a few of the topics we're thinking about, feel free to suggest your own.

• Salesforce's VisualForce allows developers to design any UI on top of the Salesforce data model. What's possible with VisualForce today, and how can you make the most it?
  
• Salesforce's Apex programming language gives you a lot of flexibility and power, but using it effectively requires understanding its capabilities and limitations. Where can you find tips and tricks for developing in Apex?
  
• Salesforce's Customer and Partner portal lets you share critical business data information with people outside your company. How can you develop effective portal applications?
  
• Google's AppEngine lets you build the next great web app, but is still lacking basic features for enterprise use (e.g., support for HTTPS). Where does AppEngine fit for enterprises and how can you use it with that in mind?
  
• Everyone wants to use their on-demand applications from mobile devices like the BlackBerry and iPhone. What's the best way to enable these capabilities and finally unchain your users from their desks (e.g. super monkey ball for the enterprise)?
  
• Security is top-of-mind for any company looking to move more of their business onto the cloud. What shoudl you know when configuring roles and profiles, establishing authentication and authorization, and setting up single-sign on?

As you can tell, there's a lot of ground to cover. We'll have folks from Appirio and occassionally some guest writers help us get there.