Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud
    • Mobile
    • Storage

    Microsoft, Salesforce Team Up for Cloud Productivity

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    May 30, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      cloud

      Microsoft and Salesforce.com announced a strategic partnership on May 29 that promises to connect Windows and Office to the popular customer relationship management (CRM) cloud ecosystem. Financial terms are being kept under wraps.

      The aim is to provide a more seamless, productivity-enhancing Salesforce experience to users of Microsoft’s operating system and productivity software offerings. “The simple truth is that we wanted to bring more value to our mutual customers, and be each other’s customers in relevant areas,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during a conference call for press and analysts.

      Customers are hungry for Microsoft-Salesforce interoperability, claimed Salesforce’s outspoken CEO, Marc Benioff, during the call. “They want this partnership badly,” he said. “They want to be able to work with Office 365, they want to be able to work with Excel, with Outlook, they want to work with all of Microsoft’s apps, and they want to be able to work with Salesforce.”

      To that end, the companies are working on a Salesforce1 app for Windows and Windows Phone. “We’re bringing the leading CRM application to Windows devices, both phones and PCs,” announced Nadella. Currently, the sales and marketing app is available on Apple iOS and Google Android devices.

      “Our new native Salesforce1 app for Windows Phones is going to give our users the power to run their businesses from their Windows Phones, and we see that in the market today,” said Benioff. Preview versions of the apps for Windows and Windows Phone are planned for the fall of 2014, with a final release in 2015.

      In addition, users of Microsoft’s mobile-friendly, cloud-enabled Office 365 productivity suite will be able to tap directly into Salesforce data. Nadella said the companies plan to “empower people to use Office 365 and Salesforce seamlessly together, whether it’s sharing Office documents in Salesforce1 or analyzing CRM data in Power BI for Office 365.”

      Microsoft’s OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online cloud storage services will appear as a Salesforce storage option. A Salesforce App for Outlook is also in the works.

      Salesforce also announced that it plans to continue using Microsoft’s SQL Server as ExactTarget’s database foundation. Benioff added that the company is increasing its “investment and resources on SQL Server.”

      Salesforce acquired ExactTarget, a cloud marketing company, in June 2013 for $2.5 billion. Microsoft will continue to use the ExactTarget Marketing Cloud for the company’s “one-to-one digital marketing efforts,” said Nadella.

      For Microsoft, the partnership is an opportunity to snag a high-profile customer for its own Azure cloud. Salesforce, revealed Benioff, “will also use Microsoft Azure for ExactTarget development and testing, and also researching other areas where we can use Azure through our company.”

      Ultimately the “partnership is about helping customers extract more value from our technologies” in an increasingly mobile-driven world, said Nadella. “It gives them access to the services they need to be productive, to collaborate, market and sell, wherever they work.”

      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×