Salesforce.com Takes to the Road

Salesforce.com is going mobile with the acquisition of Sendia.

Salesforce.com, whose AppExchange service offers CRM (customer relationship management) software on demand, said on April 11 that it had created a new AppExchange Mobile service via the purchase of Sendia for $15 million in cash.

AppExchange Mobile will allow Salesforce.com customers to access more than 60 applications while on the road, company officials said, in addition to helping other AppExchange participants applications to be accessed by mobile devices.

AppExchange Mobile will allow Salesforce.com customers to access more than 60 applications while on the road, company officials said, and will help developers to make other AppExchange applications accessible on mobile devices.

/zimages/1/28571.gifClick hereto read more about the AppExchange service.

“AppExchange Mobile solves key issues for both our customers and our partners. Our customers are eager for ways to extend their on-demand applications to the mobile workforce, and developers need a painless way to address this major opportunity,” Marc Benioff, Salesforce.coms chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

The AppExchange Mobile will support a range of devices from wireless-equipped notebooks with Intels Centrino chip bundle to Research In Motion BlackBerry handhelds, in addition to the Palm, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems.

The applications AppExchange Mobile will grant access to include Salesforce.coms own Salesforce SFA, Salesforce Service & Support and Salesforce Marketing, in addition to wares from companies such as Ascendus Technologies, Before the Call, BlueWolf Group, CRM Orbit, Customer Connect, eCredit, Esker, GOT Corp, Harvest Gold, Idealist Consulting, Intacct, Ketera Technologies, MarketSync, Mitrix Inc., MW Advisors, NextMark, The Payroll Company, Remend, Secured Dimensions, Select Selling, Sigma Trak, StraightThrough, SuccessFactors and Visual Mining, according to the Salesforce.com.

AppExchange Mobile is available now for $50 per user per month for Saleseforce.com Enterprise Edition and Professional Edition customers and is included in Unlimited Edition for no extra charge, company officials said in the statement.

Sendia, which is based in Santa Monica, Calif., has 35 employees. Sendia President Alex Klyce was named senior vice president and general manager of Salesforce.coms AppExchange Mobile Business Unit, Salesforce.com officials said in the statement.

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