Salesforce, Adobe bring Flash to Force.com

Businesses who have already taken the plunge into the Salesforce cloud will find something new this morning: Adobe Flash.

The two companies today announced an alliance that brings the power of the Adobe Flash platform to the Salesforce's Force.com, where developers build - and many times share - business apps for the cloud. Through the partnership, the companies said they are are offering developers a way to build rich Internet applications in the cloud.

The apps built using Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com can easily be deployed to users through the browser using the Adobe Flash® Player or directly to the desktop via Adobe AIR. In a joint statement, the companies further said:

This tight integration enables client-side data management and synchronization between cloud and client, simplifying the development of applications that seamlessly run online or offline across operating systems and devices, while taking full advantage of the proven scalability, security and reliability of the Force.com platform. Developers can use Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com to extend or enhance existing Salesforce CRM implementations and custom-built Force.com applications, or build entirely new applications to provide customized user experiences for any business need.

Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com is available today as a developer preview. The full release is expected to be released in the first half of 2010. The companies have also put together a brief (14 minutes) video demonstrating the building of an app on the new platform.