A likely partnership between Google and Salesforce.com
could encourage the adoption of software as a service in small and
medium-sized enterprises, according to Forrester
Research.
Reports from the Wall Street Journal suggest
that Google and Salesforce.com are discussing a joint venture
that would help the companies to compete with Microsoft in
delivering
customer relationship management (CRM)
software to SMEs
on-demand over the web.
"Google brings familiar software, such e-mail, calendars, and
office applications, which SMEs can begin using as a starting point
for getting their heads around the concept of software as service,"
said Forrester research analyst Rebecca Jennings.
"As smaller companies become more comfortable with the
delivery of software this way, it will open
possibilities for them to try more advanced applications, like
the ones offered by Salesforce."
This could mean potential competition between Google Apps and
Office Live, and between Windows Live and Google on advertising, as
well as between Salesforce.com and Microsoft CRM, said
Jennings.
Stronger links between Google's advertising capabilities and
Salesforce.com's CRM software could enable users to automatically
plan, price, place and track marketing campaigns from a central
application within Salesforce.com.
Providing software as a hosted service over the internet reduces
the need for user companies to invest in hardware to support the
running of applications. In businesses that have limited IT
infrastructures, this can provide access to software functions and
packages that previously would have only been available to larger
businesses.
Although the combined offerings of Google and Salesforce.com
could be attractive to SMEs, Jennings warned firms against
underestimating costs. "Look at cost of ownership carefully savings
you could make from reducing the need for hardware in the first
year could be offset by contracts enforcing lock-ins and minimum
terms," she said.
Google and Salesforce.com to partner
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