salesforce

Salesforce bets on independent developers

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

As SAP gobbles up Business Objects, Salesforce took a dramatic step to position the company as a viable alternative to the traditional pillars of the enterprise software space. On Friday, Salesforce took the wraps off of a $25 million fund that will underwrite software developers and third party vendors. The move was made with VC partners Bay Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. The money will be distributed to some 50 software start-up companies, where teams will be given $500,000 to develop on-demand applications on Salesforce's platform, Force.com. This represents a major initial effort to establish the platform as a financial opportunity for third-party developers, and to create a broader variety of applications and capabilities for the enterprise. Australia-based Sqware Peg, for instance, has created an SMS (short-message service) marketing application using the platform. This is a big opportunity for the VC partners as well. Startups that develop innovative offerings on the platform may be terrific investment opportunities.

For more on the deal:
- check out the article by CNET

ALSO NOTED: Flying to the U.K.? Don't plan to bring your PC onboard; Salesforce.com launches $25 million investment fund;

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

> Flying to the U.K.? Don't plan to bring your PC onboard. Article

> Salesforce.com launches $25 million investment fund. Article

> Former NetApp executive faces jail time, fines for embezzling $90K. Article

> The Silicon Alley vs. Silicon Valley debate continues. Blog

> VCs put their money in virtual world companies. Article

And Finally... how NASA helped jumpstart Silicon Valley. Article

SaaS driving customer management software sales

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Although there has been quite a bit of frustration with customer management software over the last year, an AMR Research study suggests the market is growing at a solid 8 percent annual rate. This growth is being attributed to SaaS, which allows potential customers to support Sales Force Automation, Customer Relationship Management and other related applications without having to absorb the massively expensive costs associated with traditional site license-based enterprise software deployments. Still, AMR Research's Rob Bois notes in CIO Magazine that the key to success lies beyond fielding new technology models. SaaS does not remove the need to engineer well thought-out business processes and implement effective change management strategies. Companies that skip these critical business steps will be victims of the same frustrations that dogged CRM implementers at the beginning of the decade. The only difference is that the up-front costs will be lower. The study noted that the top three vendors in the market include SAP, Oracle and Salesforce.com. While Salesforce.com continues to hold a third place position, the report notes that the company is taking away market share from its larger competitors.

For more on SaaS driving customer management software sales:
- check out the findings in CIO Magazine. Article

ALSO NOTED: The U.S. and Japan offer the best environments for IT; Today's CIOs need real vision;

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> The U.S. and Japan offer the best environments for IT. Article

> CIOs and their teams should prepare for new eDiscovery rules. Article

> Today's CIOs need real vision. Article

> Microsoft takes on salesforce.com with on-demand Dynamics Live CRM service. Blog

And Finally... One CIOs evaluates Linux desktops and Apple Macs to reduce his dependency on Microsoft. Article

Is it time for SaaS?

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Is SaaS just hype, or is something really going on here? This is the question on the mind of CIO Update's editors. Advocates insist that SaaS's time has come, and after attending the Software as a Service Conference (SaaSCon) in Santa Clara in April, the editors agreed. It is clear that an emerging industry is quietly but steadily gaining ground and that SaaS may be on track to change the face of enterprise computing. Salesforce.com CEO Jim Steele believes the SaaS market will represent 25 percent of the software delivery marketplace revenue within four years.

To learn more:
- read this CIO Update report

ALSO NOTED: HP lands a$5.6B contract with NASA; Google and Salesforce to join forces?;

Thu, 24 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> HP Lands $5.6 Billion contract from NASA. Article

> Solar powered mobile devices: closer than you think. Article

> Google and Salesforce.com may meet in the enterprise, take on Microsoft. Article

> Between bloggers and social networking, there's no hiding poor customer service. Article

And Finally... Bill Gates and Steve Jobs prepare to have a historic conversation. Article

The integrated enterprise

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

The vast majority of organizations run separate applications for each function. Because none of these systems typically talk to each other, duplicate information must be manually entered or imported over and over again, leading to human error and a lack of business intelligence. The goal is to integrate all of the applications used to run businesses into a single consolidated system that shares data where needed. Independent software vendors generally take one of two approaches to the problem. The first solution is core module integration, where a software service provider acts as a central hub and other application service providers integrate their core modules (i.e., accounting, inventory, etc.) into that hub, each consuming its own utilities as needed via Web services. Salesforce.com uses this approach. The second solution is an all-in-one super suite, where a single vendor provides all of the core modules within a single suite, which consumes utilities via Web services as needed. Vendors include SAP, NetSuite, Applicor and BizAutomation.com.

Learn more about the integrated enterprise:
- read the article at CRM Buyer

The real cost of deploying SaaS

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Software as a Service (SaaS) has myriad benefits, including easy deployment and greater flexibility in procuring applications, but it's not necessarily the cheapest way to go. Per-user prices range from about $65 to $125 per user per month, but extra storage above the agreed-upon amount can nudge the total cost higher. The annual subscription fee for Salesforce.com, for example, would cost a company with 100 users using the Enterprise Edition about $150,000. Premier support would cost an additional $22,500 per year. NetSuite figures its costs differently, but it's not any cheaper. And if you require a lot of additional storage, it can cost $50,000, $100,000 or more per year. But pricing isn't written in stone. Some companies, like OrderMotion, have flat-fee schedules for hosting, for unlimited users, but charges a fee for each transaction. All told, Gartner estimates that deploying SaaS saves a large enterprise about 11% per year.

Learn more about the real cost of deploying SaaS:
- read the article at InfoWorld

ALSO:
- read this on the value of SaaS
- and this on the pros and cons of SaaS

Boosting customer relationships through software

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Many companies have reaped the benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) systems over the years, but more and more are turning to hosted CRM to save money, eliminate in-house maintenance, reduce deployment headaches and hasten deployment. In some cases, deployment can happen within 90 days instead of 12 months or more with a hosted solution. Costs can also be a factor. A hosted version can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less than buying a CRM product outright. Maintenance and record-keeping is also easier; hosted systems aggregate sales figures automatically, eliminating hours of manual reporting. What's more, an on-demand system allows you to dip your toes into the water and see whether the solution is right for your company. Hosted CRM vendors include Salesforce.com, SAP, Oracle, and RightNow Technologies.

Learn more about hosted CRM:
- read the article at Baseline

ALSO:
- read this on wringing more value out of CRM
- and this for more about CRM

The next generation of IT

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 19:01:38 -0500

The next generation of IT will be much more flexible and scalable than today's technology, focused more on serving the business side of the enterprise. It's the only way to remain competitive going forward, especially with the growing push for IT organizations to add value and the reality of the mobile and decentralized workforce. Recognizing these challenges is the first step toward change. One possible change is having some of your applications and systems hosted by an outside entity or virtualizing your environment as much as possible in-house. The increase in mobile and remote office staff is one argument in favor of software-as-a-service, which makes it easier and cheaper to deliver business support wherever your users happen to be. To do that, companies will consider services like Salesforce, NetSuite, Webex and CrowPeak, which simplify the enterprise IT landscape.

Learn more about the IT landscape of tomorrow:
- read the article at BPM Today