Salesforce chief pans competitors' cloud efforts
Published: 05 Nov 2008 07:30 GMT
Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff has accused SAP of failing to understand cloud computing, and attacked Microsoft's internet-based operating system, Azure.
Speaking at Salesforce's Dreamforce user conference in San Francisco, Benioff questioned SAP's delayed software-as-a-service ERP project, Business ByDesign even inviting the German company to use Salesforce.com's own Force.com developer platform.
Benioff told Dreamforce SAP is doing a "terrible job" with Business ByDesign. He described SAP's project as "a huge implosion", and added: "The way they're developing it is insane".
"They have to have their own platform, it makes no sense. I think that they don't understand cloud computing."
Microsoft's cloud strategy also came in for criticism from Benioff, who said its web OS Azure merely continues Microsoft's approach of working with its own technology to the exclusion of others.
"[Microsoft] use their monopoly to control this industry and keep us all in a box. They just think they're the whole industry," he added.
"We love everyone, we love vendors. This is our core strategy, love," he said.
The company has been using Dreamforce to announce interoperability initiatives with Amazon and Facebook around its Force.com developer platform.
Despite extending the functionality of Salesforce.com's own cloud-computing offering with the addition of Force.com Sites, Benioff revealed the company isn't planning to become the software-as-a-service equivalent of a Swiss army knife.
"We're very focused on CRM and platform. If we try to do it all I don't think that's going to work. I think we have to pick our poison," he said.
Credit: 'Microsoft, SAP just don't get cloud computing' from silicon.com
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