LongJump, a company based out of Sunnyvale, California, has introduced a Database-as-a-Service (DaaS) product that offers you an easy way to build a database application backend for your website and business. With LongJump, database setup is simplified - you no longer need to worry about server provisioning, redundancy, backups, patching, or any of the other IT complexities involved with running your own servers. Instead, you just sign-up with LongJump, set up your data structure and permissions, and connect your web services.
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Using a simple, drag-and-drop web-based interface, the LongJump Native
Browser Interface provides an easy way to manage and work with the data. Now,
database creation and editing can be done by anyone with spreadsheet or basic
database skills by using LongJump's built-in tools. The provided tools let you
easily add users, change their access and sharing permissions, define new data
models, import data, add or change fields, perform mass update and delete
functions, add data policies or workflows, and create custom reports. All that's
needed is a standard web browser - they recommend the latest version of either
Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Customizable home pages can be created with configurable dashboard widgets for any purpose or can be assigned to specific members of your team. Built-in customizable reporting tools can be used to create charts, graphs, and other reports that can also be displayed on these homepages.
If you build an app with a LongJump database, you can can choose to publish it to LongJump's Application Catalog so other users can try it, review it, and subscribe to it. LongJump will even work with you if you want to make your apps available for a subscription fee, the pricing of which is up to you.
Your LongJump database is not only easy to set up and use, it is also likely to be more secure, reliable, scalable, and flexible than anything you could afford to build yourself. For $19.95/month, LongJump provides customers with an SLA guaranteeing 99.999% server and network uptime on systems that are certified for SAS 70 Type II, an industry standard for data protection compliance. If you need to add new capacity, LongJump can do this within 24 hours, while load-balancing incoming traffic.
LongJump is another example of the trend toward open platforms on the web, as it also provides a REST-based XML API for developers. This means LongJump developers have more options than just using the provided user interface to manage their data. Instead, they could forgo that interface altogether to use LongJump just as a data store; they could build a web-based front end to their apps or deliver the data in the LongJump database via a web service.
A low-cost cloud database that can be designed and used by non-programmers is a great resource on its own; the gallery of subscription applications and tools for developers make it even better and sure to be adopted by many businesses in the future.
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