MK Partners welcomes its newest client, The Natural Step, to the list of nonprofit organizations achieving salesforce.com solutions developed by MK Partners.

The Natural Step, an organization focused on developing blueprints toward sustainability for organizations of all sectors, lacked the technology to easily implement it’s mission statement. Struggling with outdated systems,  The Natural Step came to MK Partners to develop an integrated, web-based solution that could benefit their project management team in the field and the rest of their staff regardless of location.

Utilizing salesforce.com, MK Partners implemented a solution that enables The Natural Step to track donors, constituents, and all of the aspects associated with project management such as budgets, project teams, quotes, testimonials, and lessons learned in one web-based system.

Over the weekend, salesforce.com prepared sandboxes on some servers to be upgraded to Spring ’10. The actual upgrade on the sandboxes will go live on January 22, but if you don’t want your sandbox to be upgraded during the sneak-peak period, now is the time to refresh your sandbox to keep it on Winter ’10.

All of this is a little confusing so checkout the details here

A few weeks ago, salesforce.com and Google announced another significant step forward in their longstanding partnership with the new release of Force.com for Google App Engine.  This new offering is another win for cloud computing, providing developers with the ability to create and build applications entirely in the cloud using both salesforce.com and Google’s cloud computing platforms.  The new Force.com for Google App Engine has a whole host of new features, including Java language support and the ability for App Engine developers to easily access many Force.com services and capabilities.  In addition, it also includes other features such as an open source SOAP Web Service client and the ability for Google’s apps to read and write to Force.com using the Force.com SOAP API. 

Salesforce.com and Google have been partnering together since 2003, when they first worked together on google.org.  Since then, they’ve embarked upon a number of joint ventures together, including the integration of Google Apps and Google AdWords with salesforce.com’s CRM application.  The two organizations are a good fit, with their cloud computing technology models, their subscription-based business models, and their commitment to philanthropy.  For more information on their latest partnership in the new release of Force.com for Google App Engine, check out this article.

As a salesforce.com user, I continue to be impressed by the ability of salesforce.com to consistently reinvent itself and evolve. As the seasons turn, so do the capabilities of my salesforce.com license. Salesforce.com has been able to go from being a product used by sales people to store data and build relationships, to an integrated solution for users regardless of their industry, title, or business needs. Perhaps nothing highlights salesforce.com’s reputation as a revolutionary leader in the industry than when revolutionary figures in other industries endorse your product. When legendary musician Neil Young stepped on stage at Dreamforce, salesforce.com’s annual user’s conference, I knew salesforce.com had once again cemented its place as an industry leader.

Neil Young, who has always been on the cutting edge of music, attended Dreamforce to share that he is now on the cutting edge of technology. Dedicated to rivitalizing the automobile as a vehicle  that is not only an effective means of transportation, but environmentally friendly and cost-efficient, Neil Young discussed how he is using salesforce.com to create a community that will continue to push his idea for transforming the automobile.

Using the force.com platform, Neil Young is using salesforce.com ideas to generate feedback and new thoughts on his Linc Volt  car. By leveraging salesforce.com’s technology, Neil Young is striving to build a grassroots movement around something as traditionally American as apple pie and baseball, the car.

If you are interested in learning more about how Neil Young is using salesforce.com to change the automobile, check out his key note address at Dreamforce at the links below.

Neil Young at Dreamforce Part 1

Neil Young at Dreamforce Part 2

Neil Young at Dreamforce Part 3