Difference Between Salesforce.com and Force.com

Posted by cleando on January 22nd, 2021

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is becoming increasingly automated with the introduction of efficient CRM software platforms into the market. They provide excellent functionality and an ease of use that help users in handling complicated customer database in a simpler manner. Salesforce is one such platform that provides its users with a high degree of automation and efficiency in making sense of the vast customer database and come up with productive analytics.

However, one of the most common questions Salesforce experts have to deal with is the one regarding the difference between Salesforce.com and Force.com. In order to answer this question, it is important to understand both the platforms.

Salesforce.com is the CRM component of the company that is Salesforce. It is the application based on the SaaS (Software as a Service) module that is dedicated to providing automation to the users in handling customer database in an effective manner. Salesforce.com is solely dedicated to providing CRM services to the clients and offering a platform that can be used in carrying out predictive and prescriptive analytics.

On the other hand, Force.com is a platform that runs on the PaaS (Platform as a Service) module, dedicated to helping business users and developers in the creation of robust business applications.

Key Differences Between Salesforce.com and Force.com

Salesforce.com is essentially a SaaS platform that contains Out of Box (OOB) functionalities that are already built in the platform and allow the users to automate necessary business processes. It is these functionalities that form the base for platforms such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Salesforce Sales Cloud.

On the other hand, Force.com is essentially a PaaS platform, where the users are provided with a platform that can be used for creating necessary business applications and customising them according to the requirements of the clients. Force.com also allows the users in customising user interface and business logic to ensure smooth functioning of the created applications.

Let’s take an example of Salesforce application being run from a mobile application. In this case, Salesforce.com provides the users with all necessary functionalities that revolve around storing of contacts, creating and sending text messages, generating emails, making calls and other similar functions. However, the application itself is built and operated by the platform of Force.com. This implies that the service provided by Salesforce.com function on the applications created by Force.com.

If you purchase the license pertaining to Salesforce.com, the package you receive is already loaded with in-built models such as Marketing Cloud, Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. These models allow you to get started by loading in your leads, Contacts and Accounts. On the other hand, getting Force.com does not provide you with any such pre-built options. You will have to build relevant applications, tabs and necessary workflow designs that you can use according to the needs of your clients.

It is also important to note that all the features pertaining to Force.com are available on Salesforce.com, but it is not the other way round. This is because Salesforce.com is essentially built on the platform of Force.com. Moreover, the cost of purchasing Force.com license is three times lesser than that of purchasing a Salesforce.com license. This is large because the time and effort that goes behind installing Salesforce.com is far less than the time and effort that goes behind implementing the platform of Force.com.

Also, the platform of Force.com is more driven by coding and programming as compared to the platform of Salesforce.com. It makes use of the language of HTML, JavaScript, CSS or Visualforce in creating fresh applications, while Salesforce.com provides an environment is more user-friendly and less driven by complicated programming.