Marc Benioff's mantra: Anything but Microsoft

Today Salesforce.com announced a "global strategic alliance" (also known as a partnership) with Google, introducing a new integration point, Force.com Toolkit for Google Data APIs. The alliance allows developers using Salesforce.com's cloud-based development platform to integrate with data from Google services via Google Data APIs. This integration service is in addition to Salesforce for Google Apps, which integrates Google's suite of applications with Salesforce.

Marc Benioff wants to remake the business software world.

(Credit: Dan Farber)

CODA, which is developing a financial suite of applications on the Salesforce platform (Force.com), has developed a prototype that takes data from Google Spreadsheets and brings it into an Order-to-Cash module.

This latest coupling with Google is part of Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff's quest to remake the software world and replace Microsoft as a leading business software platform for building any kind of application. Remaking the software world means moving from client/server solutions to multitenant, cloud-based, on-demand, software-as-a-service, utility computing, platform-as-a-service applications or whatever assemblage of words describes Web-centric computing. They could also be called "server/client" systems, since Salesforce.com, Google, and others offer offline access to the applications.

Part of Benioff's strategy over the years has been to draw attention to his company by picking on his biggest potential competitor--Microsoft. His mantra is "the end of software," referring to the kind of client/server applications embodied by Microsoft Office. In a March interview with CNET News.com, Benioff said:

I think Microsoft is still a dinosaur. More than ever, it tries to hold onto its monopolistic position around technology that they hold, whether it's SQL Server, whether it's NT, whether it's Windows, whether it's Office--these are their cash cows they don't want slaughtered.

The other part of Benioff's strategy is to align with Google against Microsoft. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so that makes Google my best friend," Benioff has said.

But the reality is that Microsoft Office is an essential part of the Salesforce ecosystem. Benioff told me that a very large percentage of our customers do integrate with Microsoft's desktop apps. But he seems to be encouraging customers to abandon Microsoft Office and adopt Google's applications.

Benioff touts that the most downloaded applications in the Force.com AppExchange are related to Google, such as Appirio Calendar Sync for Salesforce and Google Apps and Gmail to Salesforce Browser Button for Firefox. But Microsoft's popular Word and Excel integration for Salesforce.com is not available via the AppExchange, so it's unclear as to how it compares in terms of usage to the Google-related products in AppExchange.

Benioff has been visionary in pushing a new model for business applications and adept at generating headlines. But it is way too early to count Microsoft out. This is just the beginning of a new software era, and Microsoft hasn't yet decided to make it more interesting, but it will.

[WJeansonne]

Hee, hee, hee. Goog luck, dude!

[Kwasiowusu]

Marc Benioff is a snake oil salesman. I wouldn't buy a used car from him if he were the last car salesmen on the planet. His tiny comoany is about as relevant to the total dominance of Microsoft Office as a dying worm. Microsoft Office sales continue to hit new records every year, and as ubiquitous in offices throughout the US, Europe and Japan, as the office furniture. Right now, even Microsoft's business solutions software vastly outsell Salesforce's puny offerings, and Microsoft's business solutions sales are growing faster.. Salesforce is irrelevant.

[cnetcensorssuck]

Kwasiowusu, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about....whatsoever. The only "snake oil" here is your disinformation.

[Kev Orng]

Dude, he has a Yoda on his desk. Only good guys have Yoda on their desk. Sheesh.
Bill Gates has one of those Darth Vader heads that he stores his action figures in. Ballmer has a stuffed Jar Jar.

[cnetcensorssuck]

Kwasiowusu, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about....whatsoever. The only "snake oil" here is your disinformation.

[Kwasiowusu]

To the appropriately named "cnetcensorssuck". Cnet censors suck?
Naaaah... you suck.
As for Marc Benioff he IS a snake oil sales. I remember reading about him and his big moiyuth as long ago as 2003, when he confidently promised to put Microsoft out of business with his new "software model. 5 years later, Microsoft's profits are twice what they were in 2003, and sales have nearly doubled as well.
You could read this Sept 2003 Fortune article titled:
"The Biggest Mouth in Silicon Valley Marc Benioff says--and says, and says--his startup, Salesforce.com, will forever transform the software industry"
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/09/01/348399/index.htm

[HughJJorgan]

Salesforce's Outlook, Word and Excel integrations are not on the AppExchange because they're included in the product already. To access them (provided you already have a Salesforce login) go to Setup->Desktop Integration->Connect for Office.

[kaprino]

damn I bought CRM at 9 a while back and bailed over 15 in least then a week. I should kept the stock, now I would be smiling every day. Maybe SUN Micro will shine once again

[Neo Con]

Just out of curiosity, in what way is this not a "trust", as in the "Sherman Anti-Trust Act"? Is Congress paying attention to this possibly illegal collusion or are they still too busy destroying our economy and freeing terrorists?

[Kosher0]

I know a financial firm that's using salesforce for their system and they say it sucks. Sales force wants serious cash to make minor modifications or any small integration of its features. This guy is attempting to reinvent the wheel and is pretending like web services and thin clients never existed. Kill one monopoly to feed another, f'n brilliant!

Microsoft CRM 4 already has integration with their online version, the office suite, and a web services API. Care to explain how you're inventing something here? Care to explain why you're not working with OpenOffice? This guy just wants fame for something he didn't invent... lamer.

[Kosher0]

"Marc Benioff's mantra: Anything but Microsoft" Anyone want to bet that the title gets changed?

[UITD]

I wouldnt trust this guy as far as I can throw him. And from the looks of him, it aint gonna be far. What a jackazz