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Despite saying little new, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff’s keynote presentation was entertaining and loud. Playing on Bill Gates’ bestseller, Benioff’s presentation was entitled The Code Ahead: The Future of Software. During the talk, he took surveys of the audience a few times about whether they’ve heard of a mashup or use a Mac.
His main prediction was that the on-demand delivery model is the future of software. No news there. That is no different than what he’s been saying for the past seven years since he founded Salesforce.com in 1999. His forecast now holds little drama. There is no question that software as a service is here to stay.
Benioff noted that consumers use online e-mail programs such as Hotmail or online auction services such as eBay but that hasn’t yet carried over to the enterprise in large numbers yet. He expects that to change and pointed to Google’s new spreadsheet program as an example of an on-demand application for the enterprise.
The increasing number of on-demand applications for the enterprise is indeed a significant development. But, what I’ll take away from the presentation is that it was the first time I’ve seen the charismatic Benioff without his “No Software” pin on his jacket lapel. Hopefully, that wardrobe change will bring with it a new message from Benioff in the future.
For more on the Always On conference, see:
Always On Webcast
BlogHer
Technorati tags: always+on, alwayson, ao, salesforce.com.
Well, he is newly married. Maybe the wife doesn't like the button on his suits :)
Seriously, while he hasn't said anything new today, there are plenty of people who don't yet know the value of software as a service.
It's interesting that while I'm at the conference I've heard the "nothing new" comment a number of times. I guess the expectation is that new and exciting announcements should populate these events on a regular basis.