The history of the Salesforce.com company dates back to 1999, when it was founded by a group of experts who had worked for Oracle and SaaS before. After several years it's grown to one of the most meaningful names in the enterprise software industry, having acquired tens of other firms and projects. Even though Salesforce.com broadens its interests, its main area of activity remain CRM systems.

Cloud computing

For many years, we all were being convinced that we cannot use an application that we don't have physically on our hard disks. But everything has changed when first companies started releasing tools which could have been used through the Internet.
From that time, more and more companies tried delivering more and more advanced applications and share them with users from all over the world without letting them download anything on their hard disks. Finally, they considered it not only a nice gadget for people who always leave their calendars, but also a great chance to completely change the method of work in even the largest organizations. And they called it cloud computing.

In case of Salesforce.com and other cloud solutions, cloud computing means that it is no longer needed to install applications on company computers. In fact, the computer used by an employee doesn't even matter, because - having a set of tools required to access the data - he or she can access the enterprise business data from any computer or smartphone connected to the internet. Thank to cloud computing, companies and their employees save a lot of time and their productivity gains are undisputable. They don't need to waste time on long development processes. Their users get an access only to tools they need, so the company saves money. Moreover, a breakdown of one computer doesn't mean an employee needs to stop the job he's doing. He can just use another computer and get back to data he was working on before (which is stored "in a cloud"). So what's the cloud itself? In a word, it's a space in the internet which only chosen people have an access to, therefore they can use it to spread documents, data, and - what's best - applications and tools. Wherever they are, their offices can be there with them. With sufficient level of security, cloud computing is a step beyond the limitations of traditional IT architecture.
It's also worth mentioning that opearting in a cloud significantly reduces the administration and maintenance costs compared to traditional client-server solutions.

SFDC cloud

The customer relationship management system developed by Salesforce.com is mainly divided into a few parts which include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, the platform, Chatter application, and Work.com.

Sales Cloud

The main component of Salesforce.com CRM is Sales Cloud, an application that works in a cloud, which lets all employees access needed data in a real time. If any information seems important, it can be found via Sales Cloud. It allows to manage contacts, transactions, address information, analyze trends and make forecasts. Thank to built-in Chatter app, employees not only in different rooms of the office, but also all over the world can quickly communicate with each other, boosting their cooperation. Moreover, Sales Cloud is well-prepared for working with external applications including the most common sales management software.

Service Cloud

Once company employees are the ones who benefit from Sales Cloud at most, Service Cloud is a great base for professional help desk and – therefore – becomes a thing which helps ensuring the top quality of customer service. How? By turning classic help desk into a social contact center where customers can find the answers to their questions on their own or – if that's not possible – contact the company representative within seconds. It all makes customers feel like the company employees were closer to them and, in a consequence, way more helpful.

Marketing Cloud

These days, social marketing definitely belongs to the most important aspects of brand promotion. Marketing Cloud by Salesforce.com is a tool designed to control the social media surroundings of the company and use them in a way that's appreciated. It works with many social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.. Via Marketing Cloud, company marketing managers can keep their eye on what's going on around the company and – if needed – react as soon as possible.

The disadvantages

Even though the Salesforce.com CRM system seems comprehensive enough for most of typical appliances, people who work with SFDC every day point out some disadvantages. At first, the interface – formerly praised for its simplicity – seems too simple in the long term. The most experienced and the most demanding users could find it impossible or too difficult to adjust the interface up to their sophisticated needs.
What may be even more important is the reliability of Data Center operated by the Salesforce.
Also, basic settings provided by SFDC are way below substantial requirements of users, therefore every new development means a lot of work for developers and administrators who struggle with the system's limitations.
Nonetheless, still Salesforce.com CRM is one of the leaders in customer relationship management systems across markets of all world. It's got over 100.000 users who found it a great set of tools to improve their everyday tasks, letting them address the needs of their customers faster and more accurately.