Salesforce co-founder Parker Harris explained how Salesforce created the App Store URL and gave it away to Steve Jobs
- At Salesforce's developer conference TrailheaDX, Salesforce co-founder and CTO Parker Harris shared how Salesforce created the App Store and gave the URL to Apple.
- Apple co-founder Steve Jobs inspired Salesforce co-founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff to create an app store.
- As a gift, Benioff gave the App Store trademark and URL to Apple.
- Read more on the Business Insider homepage.
Salesforce and Apple's friendship goes way back. In fact, the two tech companies even helped inspire each other's app stores.
At TrailheaDX, Salesforce's developer conference in San Francisco, on Wednesday, Salesforce co-founder and CTO Parker Harris touched on this story.
"I feel like it's my job to stay ahead of all of you," Harris said onstage. "I try to stay ahead of you in technology. We did that in '99. We created that in '99. We called it the App Store."
What Harris is referring to is how Apple co-founder Steve Jobs inspired AppExchange, Salesforce's app store, and how Apple's iconic "App Store" trademark and URL once belonged to Salesforce co-founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff.
Previously, Jobs gave Benioff this advice, according to a a CNN interview: "You've got to build an application economy." Benioff then trademarked the name "App Store."
In 2006, Salesforce launched its app store AppExchange, and Apple launched its own app store in 2008. Benioff gave "App Store" trademark and appstore.com to Apple as a gift. The URL is still in use today, as it redirects to Apple's iTunes store.
"It's not just the technology that Salesforce brings," Harris said. "We also have incredible partners -- partners like Apple.