Monday, April 07, 2008 9:03 AM/EST
At bottom the debate did more to fan the flames around the raging speculation of whether Salesforce is courting Oracle as an acquirer, Oracle is pursuing Salesforce as a love match or - a new twist - SAP is considering Salesforce.com. On the cheap, that is. Because as Plattner warned Benioff, Salesforce.com's shining star could wane.
"I'll give you advice, because you are younger," said Plattner. "Don't overestimate your platform. We have sunk so many platforms, taking with them other computer companies [that have partnered with them]."
Thursday, February 28, 2008 8:02 PM/EST
Here's the striking similarity I found in both camps: groups of people interested in finding the money trail with software as a service, either as an investment vehicle or as a revenue stream. People I spoke with informally--in the halls, at breakfast and lunch, in the elevator--all seemed interested in the same things: staying on top of emerging trends in the fast evolving world of SAAS--not missing a thing seems critical--and finding out how to make money with SAAS applications, whether that boils down to an architectural, platform or sales and marketing discussion.
Sunday, February 10, 2008 9:44 PM/EST
While it's always been in the back of my mind that Oracle would acquire NetSuite for its on demand capabilities - Oracle CEO Larry Ellison & family owns a major stake in NetSuite - a Salesforce.com union makes possibly even more sense. Salesforce is the undisputed leader in the Software as a Service sector. And Oracle likes to buy winners.
Friday, January 18, 2008 2:08 AM/EST
I went to Ning, Andreessen's latest love child, to check out all the networks people have developed (during his Q&A Andreessen said there are about 150,000 individual networks created on Ning, which, like Salesforce's Force.com, is an on-demand development platform).
Thursday, January 10, 2008 12:34 PM/EST
Analysts agree: Salesforce.com (under the ticker CRM) is doing great. Its product is good, its strategy is sound, its management team is top-notch and execution has been, for the most part, airtight. So what possibly could be the issue with Salesforce.com? Jim Cramer, the guy who screams stock advice at viewers on CNBC's Mad Money every night, has Salesforce.com in his sights. And he thinks -- as do other analysts -- that Salesforce.com is quite possibly too good for its own good.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008 12:12 PM/EST
I have left Oracle largely out of those Software as a Service conversations - well, not counting NetSuite's IPO, which Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has a huge stake in as a majority owner- because, quite frankly, there just didn't seem to be a lot happening at Oracle around Siebel CRM On Demand, particulary with respect to a platform play. Mr. Lye, however, set me straight.
Monday, January 07, 2008 11:43 AM/EST
For an alternate-reality look at the world of SAAS (software as a service), Goldman Sachs released a report Dec. 7 downgrading on-demand darling Salesforce.com to a sell rating and upgrading relative underdog RightNow Technologies to a neutral rating. Both companies sell on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) software, but Salesforce.com is gargantuan in comparison to its on-demand CRM competition. The company is looking to hit a billion-dollar revenue rate some time in 2008, while RightNow is, well, ticking along. A good metric for comparison: RightNow, headquartered in Bozeman, Mt., has about 1,800 companies using its software. Salesforce.com, a San Francisco local, has about 35,500 companies using its software.
Friday, October 05, 2007 11:50 AM/EST
IBM is apparently in the works with an on demand marketplace to rival that of Salesforce.com's AppExchange. Beloved by partners and customers - but with no quantifiable income stream yet - AppExchange is marketed as the eBay of Software as a Service, a place where companies can go to find, test and comment on third-party applications that build on their Salesforce.com environments.
Friday, September 14, 2007 12:28 PM/EST
Salesforce may have solved one branding issue with its Visualforce on demand UI builder announced Sept. 14 - now partner apps no longer have to carry the Salesforce look, feel and brand - but the company still has one more to little branding thingie to solve: It's own. First there was Multiforce. Then Apex the platform, and later Apex code. And now Visualforce and Force.com. I'm somewhat confused. I know they all relate to Salesforce's move into the platform world but at this point I am not sure which term takes the place of what functionality. Or if they're all separate things. Partner's I've spoken to are also a bit mystified, particularly with what Apex means - the platform that existed long before the code, the code itself, or both. I've got this much down: Apex is the platform for developing on demand applications. Apex is also the on demand...
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:40 PM/EST
While I haven't been able to confirm that there is any line to be drawn between the exodus of Salesforce (AppExchange) employees, the confluence of events - executives leaving; partners grumbling - certainly leads to some questions. Mainly, is the bloom finally fading from Salesforce.com, a company that's long been the standard bearer, the poster child, for Software as a Service? I think not yet. Because here's the thing: When it comes to a viable venue for ISVs to sell their on demand wares they ain't got nowhere else to go. Or at least no other partner with the market breadth and depth of offerings that Salesforce.com has.
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