Update: Please note that Salesforce App Cloud is now known as Salesforce Platform.
One of the most exciting announcements in Dreamforce 2015 was about Salesforce App Cloud.
App Cloud is – the new name for Salesforce Technology Platform as announced in Dreamforce (Salesforce’s annual conference). Think of App Cloud as a group of technologies, which allow you to create innovative apps very quickly.
The App Cloud is designed to provide a connected platform – tools & frameworks – for customers to build applications very quickly.
The services provided by App Cloud are:
Force.com
Rapid application development service for anyone to build apps https://developer.salesforce.com/platform/force.com
Shield
Highest level of compliance and security for enterprise apps http://www.salesforce.com/platform/shield/
Salesforce Lightning
Salesforce Lightning is the new UI service to build beautiful apps or any device. Think of Lightning as both a platform (components and dev framework) and as a UI experience (desktop, mobile). https://developer.salesforce.com/lightning
Trailhead
Free App Cloud learning platform. https://developer.salesforce.com/trailhead
AppExchange
#1 enterprise app store – the largest ecosystem of enterprise apps and components.
What do you get at AppExchange? You can get components to enhance your application. e.g. ETL tools, UI components & more. You can also get full application suites. e.g. Financial Force (ERP) or Milestone (Project Management application). If you are an ISV or an independent developer, you can create application components and sell it on AppExchange.
https://developer.salesforce.com/platform/appexchangeHeroku Enterprise
The PaaS capabilities of Heroku are enhanced with enterprise level controls – SSO & role based security; plus “Spaces” which let you run your applications on Heroku in a network isolated environment, bringing the the concept of hybrid clouds to Heroku. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2015/09/heroku-enterprise.html
Thunder
Salesforce IoT service – for connecting everything to Salesforce. A highly scalable event processing engine, Thunder helps you generate near real-time insights and smart actions. http://www.salesforce.com/platform/products/thunder/
Salesforce App Cloud brings together all the tools and services for creating enterprise grade apps in a unified ecosystem. You can quickly build apps or buy pre-built components from AppExchange App store.
Resources
Introduction to Salesforce App Cloud: https://developer.salesforce.com/platform
Getting Started with App Cloud: https://developer.salesforce.com/gettingstarted
Please note that this is not an official Salesforce Blog. The views expressed here are mine only.
All the information which I have shared here is publicly available and announced. However please note that not all products mentioned here are GA (generally available) today. You should make your purchase decisions based on what’s on official Salesforce.com ( https://www.salesforce.com/ ) websites; not based on this blog.