[iFelix]

Hey, just seeing this thread now. Agreed! We've started a year ago and have done probably just 10% of what is needed to really get to Salesforce. We need (1) a flexible data model, (2) a flexible layout, (3) code execution. We've done (1) but have yet to do (2) and (3) this year. Next step of the plan is to let people build and share apps that leverage those 3 blocks, that's where open source will really shine!

[andyferris]

Can you elaborate on what "a flexible layout" means in this context? Is this data layout, i.e. serialization format(s)? UI layouts for displaying values in the data model? Something else?

(We too are in the "let people execute their code on our servers" space; providing a flexible data model seemed to have been key)

[schneems]

I work for a Salesforce company (Heroku) so I’ve used their CRM interface enough that I think I know what they are talking about.

You can customize views and reports. To the point you can make it do stuff like be a kanban board or blog. It’s really flexible. The “build a portfolio” is actually using the CRM (IIRC). https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/trails/build-...