Database.com is designed to power the next wave of mobile and social applications with automatic elasticity for scale and a social data model. It exists as a hardware and software-free database alternative that includes traditional features including user management and row-level security.
The new product launch is a strategic move by Salesforce to compete with Oracle in the database systems marketplace. In his keynote speech at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference, CEO Mark Benioff argued that databases are moving to the cloud and that this represents the next evolution of cloud computing. He also proclaimed, "the cloud is not a box," and "beware of the false cloud" -- both statements were in reference to Oracle and client/server databases.
The developer preview of Database.com will be made available in 2011. The standalone service will run on a freemium model with usage-based pricing.
Salesforce is currently touting a $1.7 billion annual revenue run rate and 87,200 customers. The company plans to introduce more than 50 new features to its Force.com platform over the course of the Dreamforce conference.
A video highlighting Database.com can be seen below.