I noted in a 2006 blog post that, “in many organizations getting access to information locked away in the data warehouse is still considered to be “in demand” not on demand.” Four years later, the terminology has changed, and adoption of cloud applications and platforms like Salesforce CRM and Force.com has skyrocketed, but for many developers the same challenge persists. Gaining access to corporate databases to build mobile, social or even analytical applications is next to impossible. And if access is granted, too much time and resources are required to implement, manage and maintain software and hardware infrastructure, instead of building innovative applications. That’s what’s so exciting about today’s Database.com announcement.

(more…)