This week, Delivered Innovation co-hosted an event at the ITA, “State of the Cloud: What Business Executives Need to Know.” The presenters included Brad Desent of Apex Consulting, Chris Kabat of MPS Partners, and our own CTO, Mike Topalovich. We were impressed by the outcome of the event, and received positive feedback from our attendees. If you would like the run down of the event, click the link below. Thank you to everyone who attended!

• State of the Cloud Event Recap

Salesforce.com recently announced an alliance with Deloitte, one of the largest consulting firms in the world. The goal of the alliance is to provide, “multinational companies with software, mobile and open cloud computing technologies for the social enterprise.” Deloitte can also help salesforce.com increase their presence in the cloud computing market share by having access to Deloitte’s large customer base, comprised mainly of large enterprises. Deloitte’s customers are looking to “work more effectively and more efficiently,” and the possibilities with cloud computing and Salesforce might just be the key.

• Salesforce.com to Widen Cloud Computing Reach with Deloitte Partnership

Cloud computing is very cost effective, but also comes with a lot of risk and security worries. With these in mind, how are higher education institutions implementing cloud computing? Currently, United States’ universities implement the cloud for three essential reasons: to lower the cost of hardware and maintenance, expand access to research and academic outputs, and grant access to Web 2.0 applications for students and teachers.

• Cloud Computing: Its Benefits, and How it is Implemented by Universities

Before deploying a cloud service, it is important to asess the risks and ask the right questions. CloudTweaks offers a few important questions to ask that will help you get you started: Who is managing my data? What access controls are in place? Is the data secured? Where is the data actually located? Are they here to stay? Each of these questions will give you a better idea where your data is going, how it is being kept secure, and what would happen to your data if the company shuts down or is acquired by someone else.

• Security Questions to Ask Your Cloud Service Provider

There is a great discussion in LinkedIn regarding marketing automation in Salesforce, Stephanie Kimball posted the question to the Salesforce Power Users Group: “Looking for a great email marketing software that integrates with Salesforce, we are currently using Exact Target and are not happy with it. Any suggestions?” The discussion has over 40 participants, with Exact Target, MailChimp, and Marketo in the lead for most suggestions. If you have any input, post your thoughts through the link below.

• Looking for a Great Email Marketing Software that Integrates with Salesforce

Join our CTO, Michael Topalovich, and 10k other Salesforce enthusiasts at this year’s Cloudforce on March 15 in San Francisco. This year’s theme is (you can probably guess it) the Social Enterprise! Expect to hear guests from Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Accenture, and Burberry discuss how they are taking advantage of the Social Enterprise , as well as register for 40 breakout sessions, attend the Expo, and network with thousands of professionals. Use the link below to register today.

• Cloudforce Social Enterprise Tour

Salesforce.com is home to over a million applications running on Force.com, Database.com, and Heroku. These platforms are all targeted towards a specific type of application: Force.com for developers who are creating data-centric applications similar to CRM, Heroku to run custom apps that can be rewritten in multiple languages, and Database.com for unifying Force.com and Heroku under a common set of cloud services. According to Byron Sebastian, CEO of Heroku, the reason why salesforce.com is so successful in the cloud is not the type of cloud platforms offered, but rather, because salesforce.com “allows them to concentrate on building the application rather than worrying about managing the servers the application runs on.” If you need Force.com application help, let us know and we might be able to help.

• Salesforce.com: A Million Cloud Apps and Counting

Have you voted for Delivered Innovation’s two panels at Techweek? If not, what are you waiting for?

• Techweek 2012- Vote for Delivered Innovation!

Deloitte has formed an alliance with salesforce.com to “provide multinational and international companies with the software, mobile, and open cloud computing technologies for the social enterprise.” Paul Clemmons, Principal at Deloitte and leader of their cloud market offering and emerging solutions line, will be the lead in the global alliance. Deloitte argues that their clients are looking to work more effectively and efficiently, and a switch into cloud computing and salesforce.com will represent the solution catalyst.

• Deloitte Partners with Salesforce.com

Results for salesforce.com’s fiscal 4th quarter and full year 2012 financial results will be released on February 23, after the market closes. The company plans to host a conference call at 5:00 PM eastern time to discuss the financial results with the investment community. A live web broadcast of the event will be available on the salesforce.com Investor Relations website at www.salesforce.com/investor.

• Salesforce.com Announces Timing of It’s Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Financial Results Conference Call

Our “State of the Cloud 2012: What Business Executives Need to KNow” event at the ITA is this upcoming Thursday, February 16! Our CTO, Mike Topalovich, is excited to join in on the cloud panel next to Brad DeSent of Apex Consulting Group, Inc., and Chris Kabat of MPS Partners, to discuss the evolving cloud computing landscape. The event is free, and held at the ITA (200 S. Wacker, 14th floor) starting at 9am on Thursday, February 16. Register using the link below, and we’ll see you there!

Salesforce: JavaScript Remoting- A Different Way of Thinking
@wesnolte
A few examples of how JavaScript remoting differs from “normal” Apex and Visualforce.

Create Custom Objects and Fields with Spring ’12 Schema Builder
@metadaddy
Video outlining the new features in Schema Builder Spring ’12.

Mobile SDK Webinar Recording and Code
@cloudysan
The Mobile SDK webinar is now available for viewing; learn about the current mobile landscape, their strategy going forward, and how to use Mobile SDK to develop really awesome mobile apps.

APEX Trigger to Prevent Duplicate Object Records
@SalesforceGirl
Duplicate records and contacts is a huge Salesforce no-no, use this trigger to prevent them.

Detecting the sObject Type of Id’s from Ambiguous Fields
@SalesforceGirl
How to accurately check if you are dealing with a User or a Group sObject in the OwnerId field.

Earlier this month saleforce.com announced their Analytics Edition, an add-on service that would be released in Spring ’12. Customers then became upset over this announcement, and argued over social media that the analytics capabilities included in this new release should be available at no additional cost. Well, salesforce.com listened, and responded: “We got it wrong, and we sincerely apologize to our customers.” Clearly the Social Enterprise does make a difference. Hey, maybe your company should start taking advantage of the Social Enterprise?

• Salesforce.com Yields to Pressure Over Analytics Pricing

Have you rolled out Chatter yet in your organization? Becka offers some great advice on how she rolled out Chatter at her company. First, she allowed power users to get comfortable with Chatter in a sandbox environment for two months. This way, they could test it out, gather thoughts and feedback, and discuss best practices. During the end of this period, they began implementing a Chatter teaser campaign to all the end users to get them excited and interested. This campaign included videos on Chatter and a link to register for their Chatter training session. Once they thought it was ready for full implementation, they did a weekend launch to reduce the impact on users, and it was pretty darn smooth.

• Chatter Round 2

On Tuesday, salesforce.com launched Desk.com, “a savvy customer support application that connects agents with e-mail, phone calls, and social channels;” the application allows for simple management of customer questions and feedback. Desk.com speaks to smaller and medium sized businesses by providing them with cloud-based customer support management. Initial setup is easy, and customers can quickly begin handling questions from phone calls, email, and social media. Desk.com is built on Assistly, which salesforce.com acquired in 2011.

• Salesforce Launches Desk.com, Slick Social Customer Support Software Based on Assistly

There is a long-standing discussion going on in the Salesforce.com Professional Network LinkedIn Group regarding expense management applications. James Sankpill, current Salesforce user, asked current users what applications they prefer to use for expense management. Answers have danced around apps such as Expensify, Concurforce, and our favorite budget application, Marketing Budget Management. Not to brag, but we think MBM has the best solution out there at the most reasonable price. So James (and anyone else looking for a budget application) don’t forget to check out Marketing Budget Management on the AppExchange.

• Please Recommend an Expense Management App From the AppExchange

TechWeek, a week long event in Chicago dedicated to technology innovation, released panel and presentation submissions this week! Now it’s your time to vote and give the panels a green arrow or a red arrow. And while you’re voting, make sure to pay attention to Delivered Innovation’s TechWeek panels: “Growing up on the Cloud,” and “To Like or Not to Like: Should Your Company Turn to Social?” TechWeek will be held on June 22-26, and you can purchase tickets here.

• TechWeek 2012: SessionCast

Delivered Innovation is partnering with the Illinois Technology Association to hold our next event, State of the Cloud 2012. Join our CTO, Mike Topalovich, Brad DeSent, Consultant and Founder of Apex Consulting Group, Inc., and Chris Kabat, VP of Connected Business Systems at MPS Partners, as they discuss the evolving cloud computing landscape, the shifts in cloud technology, and provide examples of how companies are deploying these new technologies. It’s free, so join us!

• State of the Cloud 2012: Free Event at the ITA!

AppExchange released the top 11 Salesforce applications in 2011, as ranked by “glowing customer reviews” in their categories. Some of the winners include Marketo Sales Insight for “Best ChatterExchange,” ProvenWorks CountryComplete Free v2 for “Best Data Cleansing App,” and Jobscience Recruiting for “Best Human Resources and Recruiting App.” Check out the 11 applications to see if any can be of use to your organization. And hey, while you’re at it, check out Marketing Budget Management as well, it’s our favorite budgeting application. Maybe we’ll see that one on the list next year?

• AppExchange Customer Choice Award Winners 2011

Wanted Analytics, a talent research firm, reported that there has been a 61% increase in cloud computing-related jobs in the past year. Even more impressive, San Francisco had a 95% increase in cloud computing jobs. Other cities with cloud computing jobs in demand include New York, DC, and Seattle. Supply and demand for cloud computing jobs is not being met; so, if you’re considering a career change, perhaps you should look towards the cloud.

• Cloud Hiring Reaches New Heights

Congratulations to the newest round of Force.com MVPs. The MVP program is set in place to highlight individuals that provide outstanding service to the community, show leadership, and stewardship. As Force.com states, “MVPs are people who widely disseminate their knowledge as well as actively interfacing with and shaping the community.” Congrats, winners!

• The Next Round of Force.com MVPs!

Salesforce is more than just a CRM system, it can be used as a platform to develop a variety of custom applications quickly. The platform (Force.com) is reliable, doesn’t require on-premise software and infrastructure, and applications can be developed quickly and efficiently. Additionally, Salesforce is linked to the AppExchange, where there are already hundreds of pre-built applications, some of which are even free. If you’re looking for custom application development, let us know if we can help.

• Salesforce as Your Strategic Cloud Platform?

Fricandy
@cloudcoder
A few suggestions on how to use HTML5/CSS3 to visualize your Salesforce data differently.

Social Single Sign-On- Authentication Providers in Spring ’12
@metadaddy
How to use external authentication providers such as Facebook to access Salesforce portals and orgs.

Big or Small, You’ll Love the Social Fleet- Salesforce of Things
@ReidCarlberg
A video on The Social Fleet, an application that helps you monitor and manage your fleet using the Force.com platform.

Video and Slides for Spring ’12 Webinar Available
@joshbirk
The Spring ’12 developer webinar is now available for viewing.

Forcing Opportunity Creating During the Lead Conversion Trigger
@_siddhesh
A trigger that throws an error message if the Create Opportunity check-box is not checked.