Separate companies are likely to have some things in common, and this is especially true if they use a single platform. Now, in the event that they want to talk to each other, Salesforce.com has provided them with a way of doing so.
The product’s name is Salesforce to Salesforce, but in order to avoid endless repetition, I’m going to risk offending some marketing manager and call it S2S. S2S, then, will allow Salesforce’s clients to “[s]hare leads, opportunities, or any custom object.”
To answer two quick objections, Salesforce claims that it can do this “securely and easily.” Since many companies already share info, the key, here, will be to keep that promise and beat existing means in terms of convenience and cost. On that note, the pricing shouldn’t be too hard to swallow – Salesforce wants just $100 per month for each connection.
So will S2S become standard? Larry Dignan points out, “Salesforce.com is trying to build a moat around its business and take advantage of its subscriber base, which will pass the 1 million mark by the end of the month. By connecting subscribers to make transactions and information sharing easier Salesforce.com is trying to turn its community into a competitive advantage.”
Sounds like a smart tactic to me. Initial responses to S2S have been positive, and we’ll see how often it’s picked up in the months ahead.
