LinkedIn Launches “Enterprise” Applications

Larry Dignan posted today on ZDNet that LinkedIn has recently unveiled its application platform where it allows developers to offer business-oriented software. But unlike Facebook that provides many time-wasting apps and games, LinkedIn will provide a bigger focus on business essentials.

LinkedIn will be handpicking the applications that will be available on the platform. For now, some of the developers include Amazon, Box.net, Google, Huddle, Six Apart, SlideShare, Tripit and WordPress. Although a lot of these applications are not completely focused on the enterprise, it’s off to a better start. I’m interested to see what the next couple of months will hold in store for apps on LinkedIn.

Enterprise is Moving Towards Cloud Computing

With enterprise organizations moving into cloud computing more frequently, Elastra, a startup company that hosts and runs software entirely on the internet, has decided to jump on this opportunity. This latest article in eWeek discusses how customers can save money by renting the computing power necessary to run applications, instead of purchasing their own hardware and software needed.

Kirill Sheynkman, Elastra's founder and CEO mentions:

"Enterprises are moving into the cloud and understand its financial value, but they need software that lets them deploy and manage applications that meet complex requirements."

This is why Kirill has launched the Elastra Cloud Server which allows customers to deploy applications across the internet by simply pointing and clicking their mouse. The startup is being funded both by Amazon.com and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners for a sum of $12 million. Salesforce.com, Yahoo, and Google are among some companies that already run enterprise applications for other organizations. Could Amazon reign on top with its newest cloud computing project?

Coghead: A Step in the Right Path

The latest post on the CogBlog introduces Coghead’s latest Web-based enterprise-application development service called Coghead 2.0. What’s interesting about this new user interface is that it will include features such as new drag and drop widgets, support for Open ID, and a new redesigned authoring environment.

Coghead is also now hosted on Amazon.com, so that let’s businesses know that they are storing their data with Amazon, not some start-up company. This platform makes it easy to develop applications that run on Amazon’s infrastructure.

Coghead brings a cost-effective way to manage applications in the Enterprise. The new customizable platform will keep things simple for people who are not IT experts. Coghead has delivered Web 2.0 ease of use for the new year, is your company taking advantage?