Salesforce.com unveiled today its new Force.com value-added reseller (VAR) program – an expansion of the enterprise cloud computing leader’s business model that will serve to grow sales of its cloud platform (Force.com) via a select portion of its existing partner network.
Reside is pleased to announce our participation as one of the fist VARs in the program. To learn more, view our press release.
So we’ve all been bombarded with talk lately of high unemployment rates, while company cultures suffer as a result of downsizing and people are enduring less than desirable conditions at work (in jobs they can’t leave, because where would they go?).
Some of these people are friends of mine and I feel for them. Some have recently been told by their employers that they need to take two weeks of unpaid vacation before the end of the year. Everyone is weathering change in these tough times and sadly, some companies are using the economy as an excuse to make cuts in company benefits and perks, ignoring culture every step of the way.
It all makes me to feel lucky to be part of a company that has been able to stay true to its employees and culture during this time. We have not cut back on all-company meetings and learning sessions that everyone can benefit from. We have actually revamped our health insurance to avoid cost increases for employees, without sacrificing coverage. We have even added opportunities for new benefits. The company is still matching retirement dollars up to 3% and continues to offer employees 1.75 days per year of Paid Volunteer Time Off. Is that amazing or what? This particular benefit allows every employee to choose their own charity/community interests IN ADDITION to what the company does through KS95 For Kids (benefitting Children’s Cancer Research Fund and Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare). I recently had the opportunity to take the time I needed to plan and manage a charity event even though it was held on a work day.
(See www.TheResiders.com for more detail about our company’s charitable focus.)
I do believe things will pick up soon out there soon. I am hearing from several friends that that contract positions with the potential for full-time are popping up everywhere, which is a great sign. I have three friends that recently accepted full-time positions and three more in the final stages of interviewing. What I would tell all of them, and anyone who is on the hunt, is that there are still company gems out there that continue to show a deep commitment to employees, a positive work environment and a resolve to forge ahead with confidence. After all, it’s the happy, respected employee that’s going to be motivated to take his/her company to the next level in any economic time.
Perhaps that’s why we just enjoyed a killer sales summer, hired two people and got an invitation by the CEO to celebrate our teamwork over dinner and drinks at his home tonight. Cheers to culture!
Login, customize and start using. Be up and running in a few days – that’s the power of cloud computing. This is a great video about the benefits of plugging in and getting started with salesforce.com and cloud computing (oh, and it’s also great for people who want to know what all this cloud fuss is about!): http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing
If you’ve ever taken a couple of minutes to view our site, you’d know that we’ve done some work with Salesforce.com. Their “no software” message to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) market has been well received by companies large and small.
But for as great as the Salesforce CRM platform is, Marc Beinoff’s company hasn’t stopped there. Building on their success with the Force.com platform, they are leaders in the cloud computing space and have been working to increase the value of their platform to both new and existing customers with each subsequent release. Most recently, their efforts have yielded two exciting products that have been getting a lot of attention:
These new offerings, build upon the rock-solid infrastructure that supports their Sales Cloud, allow customers to build public-facing websites and tap into the “wisdom of the crowd”, respectively. For those interested in more technical detail, we’ve published a whitepaper that you’ll find helpful.
For Salesforce CRM customers, Force.com Sites gives them the ability to host and manage a website without having to having to maintain a server or contract for external hosting services. Additionally, Force.com Sites has the ability to give permission-based access to data within their Salesforce CRM environment, which opens a wide-range of integration possibilities all within a single, managed environment.
The Salesforce Ideas product has been a remarkable success since it was launched in 2008. Companies such as Dell, Starbucks, FICO and others have used its capabilities to quickly and easily build communities that allow them to interact with their customers to gain insight into their wants and needs. The Ideas platform was designed to allow end-users to submit and vote on ideas, while providing the back-end administrative tools to allow companies to organize and manage the feedback.
Most recently, Salesforce has rolled out new functionality called Ideas Base Theme (IBT) that allows customers to have greater control over the site’s design. A frequently requested feature since its launch, IBT provides a consistent framework for conforming the service to a customer’s requirements and brand identity standards.
These are just two examples of how Salesforce.com has continued to develop their SaaS platform in order to be a relevant player in their space.
To learn more about Reside and how we can help you leverage cloud services to set your business strategy in motion, contact us today.
Cloud services beat economical odds
Monday, August 17th, 2009In economical conditions like these, no company goes untouched. And though Reside has certainly felt the impact of the changing marketplace, it’s been interesting - and affirming - to see our business sustained and growing during a challenging economy. In fact, we’ve just closed on two of our top sales months in the 8+ year history of our firm. Is it just a matter of luck? A fluke? I’ve been watching carefully from my “marketing” vantage point, and I truly don’t think so.
As a provider of Web services, Reside has seen consistent year-over-year sales growth since our start in 2001. But in this especially unique economy, Reside’s expertise in cloud services (Cloud Computing) seems to have secured for us a unique competitive edge. [Learn more about Cloud Computing here.] We didn’t plan our strategy around the economy. In fact, our strategy has always centered on bringing maximum value to our clients, using the Web. And with the maturation of cloud offerings, it only makes sense for our services to focus in this area.
Growing demand from our clients and prospects points to the validity of the cloud model and its ability to truly deliver value to businesses. And considering some of the following statistics and predictions on the topic, it’s not surprising that we should be experiencing a boom in sales at this time when companies are seeking more value for less spend. Take a look:
Gartner predicts that cloud services will vault from $46.4 Billion in 2008 to $150.1 billion by 2013. CIO Magazine tells us that 47% of CIO’s surveyed are using the cloud or researching it. And Nucleus Research has established that “Speed to ‘go live’ is five times faster in the cloud,” and also states that “Cloud development offers more rapid time to value, lower cost and greater ongoing flexibility [compared to traditional software or Web solutions].”
So, is our business strategy economy-proof? Certainly none of us can predict the future. But judging from the recent past, and looking toward the emerging offerings in the cloud, it seems clear that experienced service providers in this niche can expect to grow. It’s a good time to have your head - and business - in the clouds.
Posted in Business Strategies, Cloud Computing, Cloud Integration, Marketing, Opinion / Commentary, SaaS, Trends / Statistics, Web / Internet | 2 Comments »