CRM inks a deal with GOOG. Probably the first step on the road to a closer relationship.
Salesforce.com, Google Blend Technologies
Google AdWords now part of Salesforce.com small biz software—hinting at plan to take over the web.
June 4, 2007
By Eydie Cubarrubia
On-demand software provider Salesforce.com is expected Tuesday to announce it will team up with Internet giant Google to distribute software that would make it easier for small companies to start advertising on the Internet.
The long-rumored collaboration between the two biggest proponents of web-based software could ultimately lead to a broader strategic alliance between Google and Salesforce.com, said one analyst.
As part of the first step, Saleforce.com will bundle Google’s flagship AdWords advertising platform with its new Group Edition small business management software, giving users the ability to advertise online and track leads, said Salesforce.com senior vice president of marketing Kendall Collins.
The announcement comes after much speculation that the two companies would bundle their software (see Mark June 5, Salesforce-Watchers). While Tuesday’s announcement isn’t quite as dramatic as, say, merging Google’s office productivity software with Salesforce.com’s sales management applications, observers said more bundled products were likely to follow.
“This is not a one-shot thing… they’re both of like mind and while they may not say it, they’re out to change the landscape,” said Jeff Kaplan, managing director of the research firm ThinkStrategies.
Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of Nucleus Research, agreed, and added, “We shouldn’t underestimate the ability of Google or Salesforce.com to disrupt other enterprise application areas with on-demand applications that they either develop or acquire.”
Mr. Collins said Group Edition, on which both companies have collaborated for “over six months,” will replace Salesforce.com’s account- and contact-management software called Team Edition. Bundling it with AdWords, which lets advertisers bid on keywords that will trigger ads on Google’s search results, was designed to attract an estimated 20 million small businesses that are new to Internet advertising.
But Salesforce and Google still face challenges together. “They will need to continue to educate the broader enterprise marketplace on the value they provide and on the advantages of on-demand adoption,” Ms. Wettemann said. She also warned that the pair will have to “stay agile” to keep ahead of nimble startups.
Then again, Mr. Kaplan said that Salesforce and Google are well on their way to more “joint offerings”—and maybe beyond. “I think there’s a very good possibility that at the end of this ‘dating process,’ the acquisition of Salesforce by Google could happen,” Mr. Kaplan said. But that wouldn’t be for at least a year, he said—plenty of time for the two to build beyond the AdWords addition to Group Edition.
redherring.com |
