Salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO, Marc Benioff, does not think that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is much of a competition to his company, or at least his words prove so, according to CNBC. During the annual Dreamforce users conference this week, Benioff criticized almost everything about Microsoft from its Surface computers to the management.
Nothing good to say about Microsoft
At the event, Benioff talked about Salesforce’s partnership with companies like Google, Amazon, Cisco, Dell and IBM. However, there was no mention of Microsoft. Both of the companies have worked together, in 2014 and 2015, but Benioff does not seem to be happy about that partnership.
When asked if the companies could come together again, Benioff said, “I like having competitors. But what I just get blown away with is how they just can’t keep, you know, that management team in place.”
Further, the Salesforce CEO took a harsh dig at Microsoft, saying that only three analysts at the event have Surface laptops, mocking the poor market share that the company has in the PC market. He did not stop there, but talked about Microsoft’s CRM (Customer Relationship Management) noting that the company had only a 1% market share.
Benioff stated that “Windows Fever” is to be blamed for Microsoft’s poor performance in CRM. According to the outspoken CEO, developer events at Microsoft focus on making software for its core Windows operating system. However, the company does not show the same enthusiasm for CRM.
As of now, there have been no comments from Microsoft.
Partnering with other big tech firms
Recently, Salesforce entered into a partnership with Facebook to take on Microsoft. Both of the companies would work to integrate Salesforce’s Quip productivity app with Facebook Workplace, according to Business Insider. Both of the companies believe that such integration would help in sharing Quip documents in Workplace for viewing all the documents shared.
Similarly, the company also entered into a partnership with Google to offer better integration between Salesforce tools and Google’s G-suite. Salesforce also named Google as the preferred cloud provider for its core services as part of its international infrastructure expansion.
Benioff – the driving force behind Salesforce
Salesforce is the fastest growing among the top five software companies in the world and the leading CRM company globally. Benioff, who is seen as Salesforce’s driving force, has a strong personality and cult following in the tech world. According to various estimates, the empire of the man, who left Oracle to create his own company, could be somewhere around $36 billion, notes The Hindu Business Line.
Speaking to CNBC from the Dreamforce conference, the Salesforce CEO also said that, “Loyalty is dead” because community influence has increased in the decision-making of customers. Benioff noted that clients like Marriott International have realized that “loyalty is dead” and how difficult it is to retain customers, and thus, they are coming up with new ways to engage them.
Separately, at the event, Salesforce officials stated that the number of women and unrepresented groups employed had kept pace with the company’s growth. The executives stated that women now hold approximately 20% of the leadership roles at the company, and minorities represent one-third of Salesforce’s employee base.
