4 ms·

Can anyone comment on Salesforce future as a company? It seems like they've topped out as a sales tool. I doubt people are going to use their 'IoT Cloud'.

shostack 10y ago
They've been making inroads into the marketing side of things for a while now with their acquisition of Buddy Media, ExactTarget, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce_Marketing_Cloud https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce_Marketing_Cloud All the big analytics/ad tech/ESP players are trying to own this space, and unfortunately none of them do it very well because it is largely bolt-ons of various products cobbled together into a frankenstein "marketing cloud" that they can then charge ridiculous enterprise services fees to setup and maintain, and has tons of vendor lock-in (the real long-term play). Personally, while there are advantages to consolidating in some cases (the DoubleClick search/display stack works well for many as one example), I worry that many of these companies are losing focus on their core competency as a result.
gjolund 10y ago
SalesForce is more brand than product, it is the type of product you start using after your CEO comes back from golf with his other CEO buddies.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  I say this as someone who can't stand using it, but that's not why it's so widely used. It's widely used because nearly every experienced salesperson knows how to use it already. So when scaling a sales team and trying to minimize friction and get them producing as soon as possible, it can make a lot more sense than another CRM, even if you like it more.
  - toomuchtodo 10y ago
    It's the AWS of the sales world.
bossx 10y ago
They are entrenched in enterprise. When all your systems (sales, marketing, ERP, finances, support, HR etc) are wired up to Salesforce workflows and automation, it's hard to leave the platform.

4 ms·

Can anyone comment on Salesforce future as a company? It seems like they've topped out as a sales tool. I doubt people are going to use their 'IoT Cloud'.

by capkutay 10y ago

shostack 10y ago
They've been making inroads into the marketing side of things for a while now with their acquisition of Buddy Media, ExactTarget, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce_Marketing_Cloud https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salesforce_Marketing_Cloud All the big analytics/ad tech/ESP players are trying to own this space, and unfortunately none of them do it very well because it is largely bolt-ons of various products cobbled together into a frankenstein "marketing cloud" that they can then charge ridiculous enterprise services fees to setup and maintain, and has tons of vendor lock-in (the real long-term play). Personally, while there are advantages to consolidating in some cases (the DoubleClick search/display stack works well for many as one example), I worry that many of these companies are losing focus on their core competency as a result.
gjolund 10y ago
SalesForce is more brand than product, it is the type of product you start using after your CEO comes back from golf with his other CEO buddies.
- the_watcher 10y ago
  I say this as someone who can't stand using it, but that's not why it's so widely used. It's widely used because nearly every experienced salesperson knows how to use it already. So when scaling a sales team and trying to minimize friction and get them producing as soon as possible, it can make a lot more sense than another CRM, even if you like it more.
  - toomuchtodo 10y ago
    It's the AWS of the sales world.
bossx 10y ago
They are entrenched in enterprise. When all your systems (sales, marketing, ERP, finances, support, HR etc) are wired up to Salesforce workflows and automation, it's hard to leave the platform.