Behind the Cloud

A software company that adapts the motto “No Software” is an unusual company indeed. A company that plots to do away with nearly every business convention – from sales and marketing models to the very hardware on which software runs – is doubly unusual. Back in 2001, salesforce.com was that company, selling software-as-a-service (SaaS) over the Internet rather than on CD-ROMs. Though the idea seemed preposterous at the time, it sparked the $46 billion SaaS industry and proved that decentralized computing, or Cloud computing, was profitable and worked. Behind the Cloud is a “playbook for entrepreneurs” in all industries, not just software, according to author and salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. It explains in detail the 111 “Plays” – what Benioff calls his core “business strategies” – that have been integral to the success of salesforce.com, and which can be applied to any industry for positive results. Benioff argues that all existing models, no matter how well established they are, can be improved. He covers all the steps in launching an organization, including hiring, sales, marketing, and going global.