Multi-Tenant Times

I know, I know. I don’t have a very good track record updating my blogs. But now it’s time for me to change all of that. My main problem is that I get involved in projects that are all-consuming, and neglect my desire to regularly share my thoughts on Software as a Service (SaaS), Database as a Service (DbaaS), and cloud computing.

My most recent job was to author a technical white paper for the folks at Salesforce.com that explains the internal plumbing of the multi-tenant architecture that supports Force.com. If you are interested in multi-tenancy and how Force.com is engineered, you don’t want to miss this document. This paper is being printed for distribution at the DreamForce08 Conference. I also drafted an accompanying presentation that VP/Cheif Architect Craig Weissman will deliver at the conference. When I have links to the paper and presentation, I’ll update this post.

So what’s next for me and this blog? The overall objective is to provide you with information that you will be able to use to compare and contrast various Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions, and hopefully make the right choices for you and your projects. Here are the details of my plan.

• Design a generic, easy-to-understand, yet full-featured application.
• Implement the application on various PaaS/DbaaS offerings.
• Demonstrate the capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses of each PaaS.

As I do this and the posts gain visibility, I’ll imagine that I’ll collaborate with the more eager vendors that wish to comment on my understanding of their products. I also look forward to constructive comments from readers that will help improve the information that I publish. Eventually, everyone will be able to use this blog as a reference library that will be invaluable for understanding application developement and administration for PaaS and DbaaS.