Salesforce.Com: Cloud Services Go Mainstream
1. How does Salesforce.com use cloud computing?
Salesforce.com uses cloud computing to provide their clients with access to a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and other applications in the form of software as a service where the software can be accessed via the Internet. In particular, their products are grouped into three types of clouds, namely the Service Cloud, the Sales Cloud, and the Custom Cloud. The Service Cloud consists of applications meant to improve customer service while the Sales Cloud consists of applications that aim to improve sales. The Custom Cloud, on the other hand, serves as a platform or environment where clients can develop their own applications using the SalesForce framework.
2. What are some of the challenges facing SalesForce as it continues its growth? How well will it be able to meet those challenges?
One of these challenges is competition, both from traditional industry leaders such as SAP and Oracle and smaller companies like NetSuite and RightNow. They also face the challenge of proving their service’s reliability and security to their customers especially in light of the network outages that have occurred in the past, an example of which occurred on Jan. 6, 2009. As such, it also faces the challenge of ensuring the availability of services to its customers. As well, they face the challenge of expanding their business model to other areas aside from sales, which they’re addressing by forming partnerships with companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook.
As for their challenges with regards to competition and the provision of secure and reliable services, they should be able to meet these challenges if they continue to innovate, upgrade their network infrastructure, and continue to offer competitive prices without hurting their bottom-line.
3. What kinds of businesses could benefit from switching to SalesForce and why?
Small-to-medium-sized businesses that lack the resources to put up or maintain their own
CRM can benefit from the services of SalesForce.com. By subscribing to
SalesForce.com’s services, these companies will be able to save on costs that would be
incurred from hardware/software installation and maintenance, as well as the costs
incurred for the staff needed to perform such administrative tasks. Subscribing to
SalesForce.com’s services will also enable the company to quickly get their system up
and running as the implementation of SalesForce.com’s system is faster than the
implementation of one that the company has to install on their own. Similarly, companies
would only have to pay for the services that they use, which can prevent resources from
being under-used. In addition, this would benefit companies who are still testing the
waters on the benefits of using a CRM, as they can easily unsubscribe from
Salesforce.com’s services if they deem it not useful.
4. What factors would you take into account in deciding whether to use Saleforce.com for your business?
One factor would be the cost, that is, whether it would be more cost efficient for me to subscribe to Salesforce.com than to implement my own system. I would also consider whether they can provide me with the exact services that I need and whether they allow for customizations. In addition, I would consider the resources necessary to run their application, as well as the user-friendliness of the application and whether staff training would be provided or needed. I will also consider their assurance in terms of availability and security.
5. Could a company run its entire business using Salesforce.com, Force.com, and App Exchange? Explain your answer.
No, a company, especially a large company, cannot run its entire business using Salesforce.com’s services alone, as SalesForce basically addresses only the sales and marketing operational needs of the business. It is not designed to address the needs of the other functional areas of the business such as manufacturing and production, finance and accounting and human resources. For these, an ERP and Knowledge Management system may be more appropriate.
References
Laudon, K. & Laudon, J. (2011). Management Information Systems (12th ed.). Pearson Learning
