Salesforce.com Expands the Cloud to Sales

The mists of San Francisco are giving way to clouds. Specifically, cloud computing with the Salesforce.com stamp, as the software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendor today announced Salesforce Spring '09, its 28th software release. The update, which went live over the weekend, includes a number of enhancements and new features, many of them centered on the concept of cloud computing and the value of social media.

Two major pieces of news are attached to today's announcement. First is Opportunity Genius, a tool that brings the value of social computing to the prospecting process. Opportunity Genius automatically compares relevant parts of one opportunity against others that the sales team has worked, and generates a list of the most similar and relevant ones. The user, having thereby identified the people in her organization with the most applicable knowledge for the current prospect, may then reach out to those people to seek advice or what has come to be known as "tribal wisdom."

The second hook in Salesforce Spring '09 is Community Content, a sales-focused expansion to Salesforce Content. The new features allow a user to locate existing presentations and other materials that are relevant to her current needs; clone and customize that content, adding or deleting portions as necessary with a drag-and-drop interface; and package one or several pieces of content for online viewing by the intended recipient. The link thus generated is trackable, and will alert the sender whenever accessed or forwarded. The Community Content also features version and access control -- so packaged content can have an expiration date, user restrictions, and the ability to fix mistakes through the use of "stealth updates."

"This is a big release, with a lot of breakthrough capabilities," says Al Falcione, senior director of product marketing for Salesforce.com. "There's never been a better time for cloud computing."

In mid-January, Salesforce.com teased the industry with the announcement of Service Cloud, a social SaaS application for customer service and support. These new aspects of the company's cloud computing initiative are being described as the Sales Cloud, though the distinction is artificial. Company spokespeople are quick to point out that "there's only one cloud at Salesforce.com."

While social computing has experienced tremendous advances in recent years -- many of them launched or championed by Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's cofounder, chairman, and chief executive officer -- it's still up to the user to generate actual value from the applications.

"In theory, the Sales Cloud brings a set of effective new capabilities to the sales team," says Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research for analyst firm Nucleus Research. "In practice, it still means salespeople have to learn to share. For companies with collaborative sales processes in place, this is an excellent set of tools."

But the value, Wettemann says, runs deeper than that. "The important thing here is the operational possibilities Salesforce.com has added," she says. "Salesforce.com's brand of cloud computing is becoming stickier and deeper."

News relevant to the customer relationship management industry is posted several times a day on destinationCRM.com, in addition to the news section Insight that appears every month in the pages of CRM magazine. You may leave a public comment regarding this article by clicking on "Comments" at the top; to contact the editors, please email editor@destinationCRM.com.

Related Articles

From Deflecting Customers to Embracing Them

Six ways that the new Internet -- a mobile, social, and real-time Internet -- is changing the playing field for CRM and putting customers back in control.

XTuple Expands to the Cloud

The open-source upstart announces cloud-based services and three new editions of its flagship product.

Chatter for One and All

The cloud computing vendor moves forward with its "Cloud 2" and announces general availability of Chatter, its social networking and collaboration platform.

Salesforce.com Extends Chatter Across the Cloud

CloudForce 2010: Pushing Sales and Service further into the "Cloud 2," introducing Chatter for Force.com, and unveiling a Chatter-specific AppExchange, Salesforce.com continues to embrace social media, collaboration, and the "Facebook Imperative."

Salesforce.com Frees Up Mobility

Cloudforce London '09: The popular on-demand provider introduces a free version of its mobile CRM access package -- after all, one executive says, "cloud applications make mobility possible."

Spring Brings Service Tweets from Salesforce.com

Cloudforce Tour: Customer service in the cloud gets Twitter integration.

Salesforce.com Adds Service to the Cloud

The software-as-a-service CRM vendor's new Service Cloud solidifies crowdsourced customer support.

12 Technology Predictions for 2009

Analysts weigh in on content management trends for the New Year.

Shake Your Moneymakers

Here are three areas in which technology can help your organization sell better.

The Google-ization of CRM

In the rush toward cloud computing, the company that began as a mere search engine is rapidly becoming the go-to source for low- and no-cost office productivity software. Handling customer information, though, requires special attention.

Cloud-y Announcements Surround Salesforce.com

Dreamforce '08: Salesforce.com's partners capitalize on conference momentum with a number of new announcements and product releases.