Happy 10th Anniversary to the Salesforce AppExchange!
Jeremy Roche | January 14, 2016
Today marks an important milestone—it is AppExchange's 10th anniversary. This day is a sentimental one, bringing memories and emotions, but most strongly, it is a moment of validation.
Ten years ago, Salesforce built a platform where anyone could build enterprise apps and all these apps would work together. I remember listening to Marc and Parker's vision on where they wanted to take the business and believed they could do it.
When we launched FinancialForce.com, I heard all types of questions and doubts, mostly on whether I had gone mad building a company on someone else's platform! Over time, as more people built applications on the platform, AppExchange became a leading marketplace for business apps. As early adopters, we are one of the proof points for the ecosystem's viability, growth and limitless potential. Phew! I can tell you I've said that to myself quite a few times.
I took a calculated risk because I believed in Salesforce's vision and it has worked out well for FinancialForce.com so far. And just as importantly, Salesforce AppExchange has achieved what it initially set out to do—to become the App Store for enterprise applications.
AppExchange has had an enormous impact on enterprise software—it has raised customers' expectations on business applications. Whether it's Lightning, Wave Analytics Cloud or Salesforce Wear, Salesforce allows businesses like us to innovate for our customers, enabling us to set the trends well ahead of competitors. I expect this speed of innovation to continue and our objective is to evolve alongside that, in the back-office.
I can hardly wait to see what the next ten years will bring. We certainly will be along for the ride! Happy Birthday, AppExchange, and congratulations to Salesforce!