Salesforce: software Terminator

The various software applications have moved to "cloud" on the future development of the Internet is the new trend of "cloud" has become a leading IT, Internet companies fighting each other for the object.

Makebeini Seleznev (Marc Benioff) is a personal of his nearly two meters tall, is "25 years of software industry veterans." He is "the World Economic Forum,"'s Top 100 "global leaders of tomorrow" (100 businessmen, politicians, artists) one, and Ellison (Larry Ellison), Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs), Benioff is a go its own way of idealists, and his role is "software Terminator." Benioff created in Salesforce corporate headquarters, there have to put up with "No Software" (not software) of the warning signs; telephone company is 1-800 - No-Software; Even Benioff clothes, to attend Each of the documents, the court will even be on the cake with this logo.

To create an industry

Benioff the "enemy" is Microsoft. Frankly, Bill Gates of Microsoft is not Salesforce's direct competitor, but Benioff It appears that Microsoft's business model and its desktop operating system monopoly, "is a hateful thing" . Benioff had worked for Apple Computer Inc., after Oracle Corporation (Oracle). Benioff at the age of 27 become Oracle's history of the youngest vice president, and by the company boss Ellison appreciated. In 1999, Benioff founded Salesforce resignation of the company, and Ellison is to vote for his 2 million U.S. dollars and become a company director. "I actually did not take any risks, Larry told me that if I failed, to be back to Oracle." Benioff said.

Salesforce offers an online customer relationship management (CRM) services. In the traditional model, the enterprise CRM projects need a few months time for installation, configuration, training and delivery for enterprises to invest large sums for the purchase of software and hardware. Benioff traditional CRM designed a unique software solutions on the hosting model. In hosting environment, users can customize their own business needs and the use of pure Internet architecture CRM system. Wall Street analysts said Microsoft's business model is selling software CD-ROM and then require users to upgrade several times and collected money from the escalation of costs. The company's Salesforce model On the contrary, once with their service, users will be able to regularly update and no longer needs an update. And the services provided through the network, does not require the installation procedures, do not need to hand maintenance, information equipment spent on the budget will also be reduced.

2004, Salesforce in the New York Stock Exchange, Benioff even choose to CRM as a company to give up the Nasdaq stock code. Salesforce company profits in the year started, 2007, Salesforce's revenue reached 750 million U.S. dollars in the world, with 75,000 corporate customers. "Our goal is not just a rule of the market, but to create a brand new industry." Benioff said, "we will not only have our niche market, but also will create a huge industry and lead the industry Development. "Benioff appears in the traditional concept of the software - the purchase, installation, will be used as the Salesforce" On Demand "(on-demand applications) and the arrival of the end of services, users would no longer need to buy any software, and Hardware, only need to pay an annual fee, they can use their own via the Internet at any time the services they need.

In the computer industry, Benioff's "Salesforce.com model," known as SaaS (Software as a Service, software as a service), which is a rise in recent years, software applications and sales model, and "on - demand software "(on-demand software), ASP (application service provider), Hosted software (hosted software) with similar meaning. SaaS services with the traditional mode of selling software licenses permanently the way are quite different. SaaS not only reduce or eliminate the traditional software licensing fees, and application software vendors will be deployed in the reunification of the server, from the end user's server hardware, network security equipment and software upgrade maintenance-free, customers do not need in addition to personal computers and the Internet Connection other than the IT investments can be obtained via the Internet by the needs of software and services.

AMR Research's survey showed that in the United States all major vertical industries and enterprises of different sizes, more than 78 percent of enterprises to use or consider the use of SaaS services, only 18 percent of the enterprises are currently no plans to use SaaS. As long as the quality and credibility of SaaS will continue to be confirmed, it will not be the charm dissipated. At present in Europe and the United States market, CRM and HR has become the most widely SaaS services.

To the "cloud" deal with

SaaS Fengtouzhengjin to benefit from a series of hardware and network environment conditions to improve, more importantly, some large-scale IT companies really practical action to promote the development of the SaaS services. Google is in this area with the most active promoters advocate. The company CEO Eric Schmidt (Eric Schmidt), under the leadership of, Google is deploying with the implementation of a referred to as "cloud computing" (Cloud Computing) strategy, which SaaS is "cloud computing" model under the A specific application.

Google's core search technology is the network through the deployment of servers around the world formed a huge computer network, Google search can be achieved on the demand for immediate feedback. Now, Google proposed a new solution that hundreds of thousands or even millions of cheap on a network server clustering, in the calculation of a large number of distributed computers, rather than the local computer or remote server. The network storage clusters will be very alarming, the network can accommodate the countless copies of data, faster to deal with a broad array of data, in the blink of an eye of the answer to the billions of search. Google will be within this massive cluster known as the "cloud" and the "cloud" on the completion of a variety of network services is the process known as "cloud computing."

"Cloud computing" The principle is just like the evolution of human consumption. It is now no longer need to purchase their own generators, but the purchase of large electric power generation business in the online delivery of electricity. In the PC era, people deal with documents, data storage, recreation or through the U-sharing information with others in the local computer must be completed, the process is like everyone has to have a generator. In the "cloud computing" era, these tasks can be handed over to the "cloud" to complete, people only need to use the time from the network calls. Schmidt analogy, "said Yun-calculated" as if the bank automated teller machines, we can not carry out a lot of cash, on demand access.

As the "cloud computing" concept influence on the expansion, Google in the industry in the value of gradually appear. We should know that to the "cloud computing" services on the need for handling the mass of information with relevant capabilities and operational resources. Our text, pictures, click, and any search on the PC can do things that are "cloud computing" industrial raw materials. Today, only a handful of network ownership of these resources giant, Google, is one of the best.

To achieve the "cloud computing", Google programming engineer the biggest challenge is how to control the "cloud" - to increase its data-processing capacity, and related programming and operations with the use of the Internet should be as easy. This means that, first of all to build a new network to share infrastructure, including the calculation of servers, storage servers, broadband and related software and other resources, it can be huge pool of information systems linked by automated software management, Without human involvement. To understand this issue, we must first of all the thoughts back to just a few decades ago in the Internet era, the world is to look at how the network structure, and its future and what will become like.

Internet began in the 1960s, when a packet exchange and a unified standard information transfer protocol, is typical of e-mail, transfer files, released for the press and of speech, known as the first generation of the Internet. In the 1990s, the European high-energy physics research center (CERN) invented a hypertext format, the online distribution of documents link together, it can not only see the text message, you can also enjoy the colorful multimedia information. This phase of the Internet, known as the "World Wide Web," which of the first generation of the Internet. Internet use are two generations of IPv4 agreement, 32 of the address space is only about 4 billion addresses available. As the Internet early lack of planning, allocation of IP addresses "inequality" phenomenon. The mid-1990s, the third-generation Internet technology IPv6 into the laboratory. IPv6 address space expanded from 32 to 128, help to improve end-to-end security, improve service quality management system and reduce the burden. IPv6-based third-generation Internet there are three main modes: NGI, Internet 2 and NGN.

U.S. government from 1996 started on plans NGI (Next Generation Internet), NGI plan focuses on business security and network management, the service is primarily aimed at the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and other government agencies. Internet 2 is by some U.S. research institutions and representatives of 34 universities in the October 1, 1996 in Chicago by a new generation of the Internet, it is not the original intention to replace the establishment of the Internet, but for education and scientific research. Internet 2 is to achieve the purpose of telemedicine, digital libraries, virtual labs, and the sharing of resources. NGN (Next Generation Network) concept of the United States in 1997 put the "next-generation Internet Action Plan." According expected, NGN is an almost all-encompassing network, including a soft-switched networks, next-generation Internet and next-generation mobile networks. On the current developments in network technology, the Internet, mobile communication technology, such as the integration has become a major trend, which will greatly promote the development of information services.

"Cloud" the opportunities and challenges

Large-scale data center network has become the trend of the next generation of information technology and Internet service basis. With the commercial and scientific data increasingly powerful, data computing power has become a strategic resource and capital. Yahoo research director Pulabaka Raghavan said, "In a sense, the world's five There are, however, the real computer." He means Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, IBM and Amazon. Perhaps, only these companies have considerable ability to be a broad array of network data into computing power and data services through access to betray the interests of the market.

In the past few years, Google has developed an effective "cloud" operating system, making Google the internal procedures to achieve large-scale applications. Google's engineers to create a series of massive support for calculating the "Cloud" of resources, applications, hardware and network configuration. Google Apps is a Web-based applications, the platform on the Google search engine, Google Apps is undergoing a strong synergistic effect. For example, when users log into Gmail, you can use Google Documents, Google Talk and My Maps dozens of software and other services, users can fully completed in the various operating on the Internet, or even via cell phone to achieve. In the traditional mode, the software must be downloaded to a PC can be used after installation, and may be no contact between them. 2007, Google Apps income of 400 million U.S. dollars, accounting for Google's total revenue of 2% to 3%. According to Google Apps users pay 50 U.S. dollars per person per year for the use of terms, 400 million U.S. dollars of income means that this service has at least 8 million paid subscribers, the figures are alarming.

April this year, Google announced that the company started cooperation with Salesforce. Salesforce company Google will begin distribution of application software, network program, the Google technology will be integrated into their customer relationship management applications. Analysts pointed out that the two sides have established an alliance to fight against Microsoft in the desktop market dominance. "The two sides will be the integration of technology in-depth, Microsoft join hands to us." Benioff said, "We hope that with Google's strategy of cooperation can erode Microsoft's office software market, including electronic forms and slideshow software."

Google, the company through the development of a "cloud" of the operating system software统统moved to a variety of applications on the Internet, and no longer needed by PC, through open standards interface that everyone can be in the "cloud" on the creation of application development tools, or . This point, just as we published an article in the blog, and in the past, the page's content to the network technology through the professional staff input. In fact, Google now doing the work so that we have seen more than 20 years ago of Microsoft. At that time, the computer lab is the University of high-tech products, and contact with ordinary people simply can not grasp it. And Microsoft in operating systems, particularly Windows system, which is plug-and-play standards, making PC hardware and software products to the public to understand the way into the consumer market.

"Cloud computing" is one such, Google is also trying to turn the Internet into a real industry, not just professional and technical personnel to understanding the things so that it have the opportunity to go beyond Microsoft to become the leader in the computer industry. Today, there are already many Benioff such as Microsoft's "enemies" of entrepreneurs to join the "cloud computing" industries, such as through the development of online CRM and HR services, has been a good market performance.

Hong Kong-based Team and Concepts Limited (TnC) is a company active SaaS service providers, the company's initial investors include Silicon Valley investment company and the Hong Kong Government Innovation and Technology Fund. June 2007, TnC access to the United States in the first round of the Group of 1.25 million U.S. dollars investment. Company founder David Lee in April 2006 introduced a GAPE similar to Google's online spreadsheet application processing services EditGrid. EditGrid support MS Excel, OpenDocument, Gnumeric, OpenOffice, and other application software to upload into, and in its editorial storage platform on a spreadsheet file can be downloaded for export Excel, HTML, PDF, CSV, OpenDocument, OpenOffice 1.x, Gnumeric , TeX source, XML (styled), XML (simple), and other formats.

This online spreadsheet service functions of processing applications in the end what characteristics it » We used to cite a statistical shares, turnover, and other aspects of data examples. In the traditional MS Excel, it is necessary to artificially from the site to find professional financial data, and then the time of admission to MS Excel, and by calling the function to the final data results. And when we need different time when the data will need to repeat the above operation. In EditGrid, a simple formula definition, you can link directly to data sources professional financial sites corresponding to the different companies in the database. When the data source data changes occur, EditGrid can also automatically update. By clicking on the EditGrid in our definition of the project, the user can operate on a platform to complete a web browser.

Clearly, compared to the traditional MS Excel operation, EditGrid has the advantage of the data collection, collation, analysis and other work in a fully networked platform on the completion of saving time and increasing efficiency. Moreover, users can even forget the e-mail and other tedious things, only to remember user name and password, access to the Internet can be a terminal real-time access to data. This terminal, a notebook computer, of course, can be more mobile.

Despite the Salesforce service companies such SaaS has entered a period of profit, but in fact around the "cloud computing" and started the wave of Internet technology innovation may not really set off. The reason is very simple, people need to go beyond reliance on technology. For most enterprises and entrepreneurs, more business models need to make adequate preparations for innovation, and be able to come up with the business strategy. Just as EditGrid, although it has great looks, but how to get into the business community and profitability is a problem. Since the "cloud computing" become a reality, then they need to try all the way into the "cloud" of the system and full application of the advantages of cluster computing networks, data resource-rich call their own SaaS services. This, SaaS can be beyond the simple concept of application software and relying on service charges. Otherwise, tell the truth, it may be the priorities.

Finally, to remind that the "cloud computing" may be the biggest challenge to Microsoft - it's the past, weaken the rival's strategy, is still great strength and its "cloud" theory in the scientific basis for the important role played. There is, Bill Gates has retired, Microsoft's new leadership might change the traditional and become more actively involved in the new competition in the market.