Google’s no wimp, but it never hurts to have help when doing battle with a company like Microsoft. A rumored partnership with Salesforce.com would provide just that, although the financial details (or even any information about the resulting products) are still unknown.
Nevertheless, this report comes from the Wall Street Journal, which is not known for printing gossip. “The companies are still hashing out details of a potential partnership,” report Vauhini Vara and Kevin J. Delany, “[b]ut one outcome . . . could be a Web-based offering that integrates some of Google’s online services such as email and instant-messaging with those of Salesforce.com, whose ‘customer-relationship management’ tools help salespeople track their accounts.”
The pair also revealed why Salesforce might want to make this challenge to the Redmond giant, stating that it “competes with Microsoft’s customer-relationship management software.” Also, “Microsoft plans to offer a Web-based version of that software that could compete more directly with Salesforce.com.”
If you’re looking for verification that a deal between Google and Salesforce might take place, you can look to the Times Online, which has also covered the story. And if you’re wondering what sort of impact the deal might have, the Times Online’s Rhys Blakely writes that it “would be a heavy blow to Microsoft.”
It seems sure that a deal is indeed in the works, but there’s one last thing – though Vara and Delaney report that any partnership is “expected to be announced in the next few weeks,” the Salesforce Developer Conference is being held today in Santa Clara, so some development may take place in the very near future.
