Salesforce announced the launch of a new Salesforce Wear developer pack as it aims to bring enterprise services to wearable computing devices. The pack will help developers get companies connected to their customers through apps for wearables.
The company has already partnered with ARM, Fitbit, Pebble, Philips, Samsung, and others to get started. Its building support for Android Wear, ARM, Fitbit, Google Glass, Myo from Thalmic, Nymi from Bionym, OMsignal, Pebble, Philips, and Samsung Gear 2.
About 50 million wearable devices are expected to be sold this year, with that number predicted to be more like 180 million in 2018.
“Wearables are the next phase of the mobile revolution,” said Daniel Debow, SVP, emerging technologies, salesforce.com. “With Salesforce Wear, companies can now capture the massive opportunity these devices offer to connect with customers in new ways.”
The company is envisioning “connected 1:1 experiences,” contextually aware sales apps, faster and safer service resolution, and of course, “endless possibilities”.
“With a connected wearable, going to a favorite casino, resort or amusement park will mean never having to pull out your wallet, juggle a hotel card key or search for an app,” the company says. “What if it was possible to anticipate needs and give VIP treatment to any visitor? With wearable devices like a wristband seamlessly connected to customer data, destinations can deliver customized journeys for every guest.”
The developer pack is available to over 1.5 million Salesforce1 developers. It’s included with all user licenses of Salesforce CRM and the Salesforce Platform.
Microsoft and Salesforce just announced a strategic partnership, which will see the two creating new solutions that connect Salesforce’s CRM apps and platform to Microsoft Office and Windows.
The company announced two specific products: Salesforce1 for Windows and Windows Phone 8.1 and Salesforce for Office 365. The former will let customers access Salesforce “and run their business” from their Windows device. A preview will be available this fall followed by general availability in 2015.
With the latter, businesses will be able to access and collaborate on Office content from within Salesforce and on Salesforce1 using Office Mobile, Office for iPad and Office 365. They’ll be able to use OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online as storage options for Salesforce, and use Salesforce and Outlook together with a new Salesforce App for Outlook. Finally, businesses will be able to connect Salesforce data to Excel and Power BI for Office 365.
“We are excited to partner with salesforce.com and help customers thrive in a mobile and cloud-first world,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Working together we’ll deliver new solutions that connect the customer insights of Salesforce to the cloud productivity of Office 365, the cloud platform of Azure and the mobility of Windows, so our customers can do more.”
“Today is about putting the customer first,” said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. “Together with Microsoft, we are building bridges that allow customers to be more productive.”
Salesforce announced on Friday that it has appointed retired four-star general (and former National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State) Colin Powell to its Board of Directors. His position actually went into effect on Thursday, and increases the size of the Board to 11 members.
“We are honored and delighted that General Powell has joined our Board of Directors,” said Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. “General Powell is an extraordinary leader who has inspired and influenced me during more than 15 years of friendship. He was also instrumental in shaping salesforce.com’s integrated philanthropic model and the formation of the Salesforce.com Foundation many years ago. We couldn’t be happier to have him join our Board.”
Powell added, “After many years of friendship with Marc and admiration for salesforce.com, I am excited to be joining the Company’s Board of Directors. In addition to being on the forefront of innovation, salesforce.com has been a remarkable leader, and has inspired many other companies, as it has made philanthropy a central part of its value system.”
Powell was already making headlines this week for posting a vintage selfie on Facebook:
In addition to Benioff and Powell, the company’s Board consists of: Keith Block (president and vice chairman); Craig Conway (former CEO of PeopleSoft); Alan Hassenfeld (former chairman and CEO of Hasbro); Craig Ramsey (former senior vice president of worldwide sales for Siebel); Sanford Robertson (principal of Francisco Partners); John Roos (former U.S. Ambassador to Japan); Lawrence Tomlinson (former senior vice president and treasurer for Hewlett Packard Company); Robin Washington (CFO of Gilead Sciences); and Maynard Webb (chairman of Yahoo).
Google put out a new 8-minute video about paid links. Matt Cutts talks about the various things that the search engine takes into consideration when determining whether or not links are “paid”.
99 percent of the time it’s abundantly clear, he says. Sometimes, not so much.
He notes, “These are some of the criteria, but just like the webspam guidelines, they basically say, ‘Look, anything that’s deceptive or manipulative or abusive we reserve the right to take action on.’ It’s the same sort of thing. If we see a new technique that people are trying to exploit people’s trust or something like that, we’re willing to take action on that as well.”
He points out that the FTC and other government agencies have guidelines about disclosure, and that Google’s thinking is pretty much aligned with these.
One thing Google takes into consideration is the actual value of what someone is getting for something.
“If you go to a conference, and you pick up a free t-shirt that’s probably pretty low-quality, that’s probably not going to change how you behave, right?” Cutts says. “That’s not going to change your behavior. On the other hand, if someone pays you outright $600 to link to you, that is clearly a lot of value. So on the spectrum of a pen and a t-shirt all the way up to something of great value, that’s one of the criteria that we use. Another good one is how close is something to money? So again, the vast majority of the time, people are actually giving you money. Sometimes people might say something like, ‘Hey, I’d like to send you a gift card. Gift cards are pretty fungible. You can convert those to money and back and forth not too easily. On the other hand, something like ‘I’m going to give you a free trial of perfume’ or ‘I’m going to buy you a beer’ or something like that,” that’s less of a connection. But we do look at how close something is to actual money whenever we’re looking at those kinds of things.”
“If someone goes and buys you dinner, and you write a blog post four months later, and the dinner wasn’t some huge steak dinner with eighteen courses or something like that, that’s probably not the sort of thing that we would worry about.”
I’d be curious to know how they’d go about figuring that out anyway. It’s unclear exactly how many courses it takes.
“Another criterion that we use is whether something is a gift or a loan,” he continues. “So imagine, for example, that somebody loaned out a car for someone to try out for a week versus giving them a car. There’s a big difference there because if you’re loaned a car for a week you still have to maintain the insurance on your car, you still have to make sure you have a place to store it , whereas if someone gives you a new car, that is something of a completely different nature. So if somebody’s giving you a review copy, and you have to return it, that’s a relatively well-respected thing where people understand, “Okay, I’m trying this out. I’m a gadget reviewer or whatever, and I get to see whether I like this camera or whatever, but I do have to send it back. Whereas if someone sends you a camera, and says, ‘Oh, you know what? Just keep it,” that’s going to be something that’s much closer to material compensation in our opinion.”
“We also look at the intended audience, and it can be hard to judge intent, but bear in mind, the vast majority of the time, the intent is crystal clear when someone’s giving you actual money to buy links, but take for example, suppose someone went to a Salesforce conference. You know, so they’re at Dreamforce, and they represent a nonprofit, and so they manage to say, ‘Okay, I’m a nonprofit, and I like to try out your service,’ and so at Salesforce conference or Dreamforce, they got a year’s free use of the service. Now, the intent there was not to get someone to embed paid links within an editorial blog post. The intent was to try to sign somebody up, see how they liked it….they can be someone who could tell other people about it…maybe it’s a subscription or a trial where they get six months free, and then after that they either have to convert or start paying money or something along those lines. That is something where the intent is not trying to get links for SEO value. It’s so that people can try it out.”
Cutts then goes on to compare such a scenario to Google giving out gadgets at Google I/O – something critics have often pointed out when this discussion comes up.
“Another thing to consider is whether or not it would be a surprise,” he says. “So if you’re a movie reviewer, it’s not a surprise that somebody probably lets you into a theater, and maybe you watch the movie for free. That’s not something that’s going to be a surprise. If it was a reporter for a tech blog, and they said, ‘Give me a laptop, and I get to keep it,’ that would be a surprise…and it would be something that was not reviewing the laptop. Just like, “I’d write about your startup if you give me a laptop.’ That would be the sort of thing that really should be disclosed.”
In the end, you probably know if what you’re doing is wrong, but it’s really also about whether Google perceives what you’re doing to be wrong. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what to expect on their end.
Salesforce announced on Tuesday that it has entered an agreement in which it will acquire ExactTarget for about $2.5 billion. Salesforce will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of ExactTarget at $33.75 per share, in cash.
Salesforce says the acquisition will further its CRM platform goals and help it create a “world-class” marketing platform across email, social, mobile and the web.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said, “The CMO is expected to spend more on technology than the CIO by 2017. The addition of ExactTarget makes Salesforce the starting place for every company and puts salesforce.com in the pole position to capture this opportunity.”
“ExactTarget’s mission is to revolutionize how businesses connect with their consumers using data-driven digital marketing across all channels,” said Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget chairman, CEO and co-founder. “Salesforce.com’s tremendous strength in social marketing, along with its leadership position in sales and service, not only will accelerate this vision, but also provide our customers with a powerful, integrated CRM platform to transform their end-to-end customer experience.”
The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce’s total revenue by $120 to $125 million. ExactTarget is used by over 6,000 companies, including Coca-Cola, Gap and Nike.
The deal has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Salesforce and ExactTarget.
Salesforce kicked off its annual Dreamforce event with a bunch of announcements.
“Today’s leading companies recognize that business is social,” said CEO Marc Benioff. “With new innovations across our six product lines, companies can transform the way they sell, service, market, collaborate, work and innovate in order to connect more deeply with customers.”
For one, Saleforce unveiled the new Salesforce Touch, Chatter Communities for Partners and Data.com Social Key. Salesforce Touch expands on the company’s mobile strategy, and is powered by HTML. It lets reps collaborate on deals from their mobile devices.
Salesforce says Chatter Communities for Partners will “connect companies with distributors, resellers, suppliers and more to drive sales through seamless deal registration, access to proven sales tools and collaboration with the right experts.”
Salesforce Data.com Social Key brings together context from social networks with “traditional company data”.
Believe it or not, that was all one announcement.
The second announcement was for Chatter Communities For Service, which the company says “will turn old world of legacy portals upside down by enabling customers to tap directly into a private social community of industry peers and company experts.” It will also integrate with the Service Cloud.
Thirdly, Salesforce unveiled Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which combines social listening, content, engagement, advertising, workflow, automation and measurement. It’s powered by Buddy Media and Radian6 – two recent acquisitions by the company.
Salesforce Chatterbox, the fourth announcement, is for file sharing across devices. The company says people can use it to manage and share files in the context of their business.
Salesforce Work.com is described as “the world’s first social performance management platform,” and features real-time recognition and rewards with feedback and performance reviews. The company has partnered with Amazon to “enable companies to reward and motivate their people directly from Work.com”
Finally, the company announced its next-generation Salesforce Platform with Salesforce Identity and the Salesforce Touch Platform. Salesforce says Identity will deliver “Facebook-like identity for the enterprise,” and that the new Touch Platform will allow mobile apps to be written once and deployed anywhere.
Salesforce Touch is generally available today on iPad, and is currently scheduled to be available on iPhone and Android the first half of 2013. It’s included in all Salesforce editions.
Chatter Communities for Partners is currently scheduled to be available in limited pilot this fall. It’s currently scheduled to be generally available the second half of 2013.
Data.com Social Key is currently scheduled to be generally available the second half of 2013. Pricing will be announced at general availability.
Chatter Communities for Service is scheduled to be available in limited pilot this fall, and is scheduled to be generally available the second half of next year. Pricing for that will also be announced at general availability.
Desk.com is available today, with pricing starting at $49, per full-time agent per month, for unlimited usage. Flex pricing is also available for $1 per part-time agent per hour.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is generally available today, with pricing starting at $5,000 per month.
Chatterbox is currently scheduled to be available in pilot the first half of next year, with pricing announced at the time of general availability.
Work.com is scheduled to be generally available in calendar Q4 of this year, with pricing and packaging to be announced at general availability.
Salesforce Touch Platform is generally available now and included as part of Force.com. The Mobile SDK and other mobile components are available on Github .Salesforce Identity is scheduled to be generally available in 2013, with pricing to be announced.
Salesforce has a whole lot more info about all of this stuff on its blog in a series of posts.
The Thinkfuse team commented about the acquisition on their blog today:
“Today, we are excited to share that the Thinkfuse team will be joining salesforce.com, where we’ll advance our mission to promote open communication and transparency in the workplace.”
“To all of our users, thank you for using Thinkfuse! We’ve been on an incredible journey thanks to your comments, feedback, and support. We started Thinkfuse with a simple idea to help teams communicate more effectively. We now have an amazing opportunity to pursue that passion on a much larger scale at salesforce.com – one of the leading companies in the space.”
If you organize conferences and similar events, your future in terms of how you organize and price your events just got really interesting.
If you’re a conference-goer, events that might be out of reach to you for reasons of distance and/or total cost including travel and accommodation, just got equally interesting.
It’s all down to Google+ Hangouts On Air, the new live-broadcast feature of the video chat service that’s a mainstay of the Google+ social network.
This morning, I took part in two sessions at the LeWeb conference currently taking place in London, via a Hangout On Air parachuted in, so to speak, with my computer webcam and broadband internet connection.
From the comfort of my home office, I was actually part of the event, joining in discussion with people who were speakers at the event physically there in front of the crowd.
To give you an idea of that, check the photo above – taken by LeWeb attendee Raphaël Goumain – that shows LeWeb host Loic Le Meur, on the right; next to him are, respectively, Bradley Horowitz, Vice President of Product Management, Google+ (meaning, Google+ is his baby); and two people from Cadbury’s and Kraft (I didn’t get their names, unfortunately, and can’t find them on the LeWeb programme). Bradley is the face on the huge screen on the left; I’m in the one on the right. Talk about scale!
So the HOA (get used to that abbreviation) was about joining Loic and Bradley and being part of their conversation. Each of us joining via the HOA – my fellow participants were Chris Dancy, Evgeny Tchebotarev and Guillaume Thomas, all of us expertly “minded” by Frederick Van Johnson – had no grand plan, no script or list of pre-agreed Q&A, just what we all brought to the party, what we might be able to add to the event overall.
Each of us had a chance to ask questions – I got one in about enterprise use of Google+ which Adam Tinworth expertly live blogged – and indeed enriched what otherwise might have been the usual kind of to-and-fro chat you typically see in any conference (good though it would undoubtedly have been).
And all this broadcast live as it was happening, over the web at YouTube, for anyone who could access the video site to view in real time. And that live broadcast was automatically recorded and published to the public web. You can see the recording, and many others videos, at LeWeb’s YouTube channel.
Wait a minute, you say – this isn’t new, you can already do video streaming from conferences. Indeed, that’s true with companies like Ustream offering this (which they did at LeWeb in previous years). There’s also desktop tools like WebEx that will stream live video although I wouldn’t do that at a conference.
But, I would argue, these are fairly complex in comparison to Google’s offering and in some cases, cost quite a bit. Plus they’re rather rigid with logins and passwords to keep access tightly controlled whereas G+ HOA are open to all via just a browser and webcam and cost you nothing (although I imagine a pricing model will evolve, perhaps also supported by ads by some event organizers – new sponsorship opportunities – rather than paying money).
Apart from specifics like I’ve mentioned, what strikes me most about this is the evolutionary effect it will have on event management and event-going-to from now on.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that today’s use of Google+ Hangouts On Air at LeWeb in London is the first such use at a major public event.
In the future, I can see a conference with, say, 1,000 people physically at the venue, and 10,000 or more participating via watching the live video streams and the subsequent recordings, all the while adding their comments, questions and perspectives via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Salesforce Chatter, whatever means are at hand that let you be part of the conversation and share your thoughts with others online.
And it doesn’t have to be on such a large scale – think of it for small-group events, too: a panel discussion, for example, or a breakfast meeting. Even internally within organizations (listen to what Bradley Horowitz had to say about that).
Welcome to the future. If you can imagine it, it looks terrific!
There haven’t been any financial details of the deal disclosed at this time, but the ChoicePass website will be shutting down by the end of June.
Apparently the two companies share the same entrepreneurial spirit and passion for employee recognition. The acquisition will extend the company’s reach and integrate their capabilities into the already broad list of enterprise solutions currently available to Salesforce.com customers.
Here’s what ChoicePass had to say on their blog site:
“We started ChoicePass with a vision to change the way organizations reward their employees. Since launching our Perks product, we’ve found that there is massive demand from businesses for innovative ways to manage employee engagement, rewards and incentives. It has been an amazing experience for us to work with such great companies, partners and of course, people.”
“Today, we’re delighted to announce that the ChoicePass team will be joining salesforce.com. We share the same vision and passion for employee recognition, as well as our entrepreneurial spirit.”
“We want to thank the ChoicePass community – members, partners, investors, advisors, vendors and merchants – for using and supporting ChoicePass! We have been on an incredible journey thanks to you and look forward to helping companies connect more than ever before with employees across the social enterprise.”
Earlier this month, Salesforce.com also acquired Buddy Media in an effort to break into the social listening and marketing arena. ChoicePass and Buddy Media are just a few components of Salesforce.com’s increasingly comprehensive business and enterprise solutions portfolio.
Enterprise cloud computing company, Salesforce.com has entered into a deal with social media platform provider, Buddy Media, to acquire their company and pay them almost $690 million in cash and common stock.
Salesforce.com hopes to have the acquisition of Buddy Media complete before the end of October this year.
Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com comments on the acquisition of Buddy Media:
“Salesforce.com now has the number one players in social listening and marketing – Radian6 and Buddy Media,”
“With CMOs surpassing CIOs in spend on technology within the next five years, our Marketing Cloud leadership will allow us to capitalize on this massive opportunity.”
Michael Lazerow, co-founder and CEO Buddy Media comments on the power of joining with Salesforce.com:
“Buddy Media’s mission is to eliminate the current state of anarchy in social marketing,”
“With the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, marketers will be able to unify their efforts to better organize their teams, optimize their social programs and deliver real business results.”
Marcel LeBrun, SVP of Salesforce Radian6 also comments on the addition of Buddy Media’s unique addition to the Salesforce portfolio of solutions:
“Social media has caused the biggest transformation in marketing since the Mad Men era, causing CMOs to completely re-think their strategies,”
“By bringing together market leaders Radian6 and Buddy Media, we are doubling down on the Salesforce Marketing Cloud to provide CMOs with the ability to manage the entire social marketing lifecycle.”
Q2 FY13: Given an expected fiscal third quarter close date, this transaction is not expected to have any material impact to salesforce.com’s fiscal second quarter FY13 revenue or EPS results, previously guided on May 17, 2012.
Q3 FY13: Salesforce.com expects to provide revenue and EPS guidance for its fiscal third quarter FY13, including the effects of this transaction, when it announces results for its second fiscal quarter, ended July 31, 2012.
FY13: The acquisition is expected to increase revenues by approximately $20 million to $25 million, and to reduce non-GAAP EPS by approximately $0.14 to $0.15 in the second half of the year ending January 31, 2013 depending on the final acquisition date. To reflect the impact of this acquisition, the company is updating the full-year guidance it provided on May 17, 2012. Specifically, the company now expects FY13 revenue in the range of approximately $2.990 billion to $3.025 billion, and FY13 non-GAAP EPS in the range of approximately $1.45 to $1.49.
Non-GAAP EPS excludes the impact of the following non-cash items: stock-based compensation, amortization of purchased intangibles from acquisitions, and the amortization of debt discount on the company’s convertible senior notes, as well as the tax consequences associated with these items. The financial impact of the acquisition on a GAAP basis cannot be estimated until the allocation of the purchase price is completed following the closing of the acquisition. However, salesforce.com currently expects that the dilutive impact of the acquisition to EPS will be significantly greater on a GAAP basis than a non-GAAP basis.
Buddy media brings along social media marketing accounts from giants like Ford, Hewlett Packard, L’Oreal and Mattel. They currently serve over 1000 customers and provide campaigns on platforms like Twitter, Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Linkedin.
Enterprise cloud computing company Salesforce is set to acquire Buddy Media, the makers fo social enterprise software. The purchase would augment Salesforce’s enterprise offerings with a ready-made solution for social media brand management.
The news was first reported by All Things D, which cites unnamed sources as saying the two companies have agreed to terms of the sale, though the purchase is not yet final. Buddy Media will be bought for more than $800 million, a bid by Salesforce that evidently beat out a lower one by Google.
Salesforce is an enterprise cloud computing company whose mission is “the end of software.” To that end, the company provides numerous cloud solutions for businesses, including Sales Cloud sales force automation, Service Cloud customer service support, and Radian6 social media monitoring, which Salesforce acquired las year. The company is beating earnings estimates and rising in prominence as one of the top cloud solutions companies in the U.S. It has also recently updated its Chatter cloud collaboration service to include real-time messaging.
Buddy Media specializes in Facebook advertising. It manages a brand’s total social media presence on Facebook, maintaining pages, app, ads, and offers. The company also manages brand image on other social networks such as Twitter and Google +. Buddy Media claims to have eight of the top ten global advertisers as clients. Earlier this year Buddy Media appointed a new president to the company, Susan St. Ledger.
With Facebook now public and desperately trying to raise revenue forecasts, it makes sense that Buddy Media would be a hot commodity. With this acquisition, Salesforce is positioning itself to be the middleman between advertisers and Facebook. And with both Radian6 and Buddy Media, Salesforce is now the go-to solutions company for social media advertising.
Salesforce, an enterprise cloud computing company, announced today that it will be updating Chatter, its social networking app and platform, with real-time instant-messaging capabilities and screensharing. The announcement came on the Salesforce Company Blog, where Peter Coffee, vice president and head of platform research at Salesforce, touted Chatter as “game-changing.” He stated that Chatter Messenger and Chatter Screensharing allow users more opportunity to work “in the app” full time. From the blog post:
Today’s announcement of Chatter Messenger and Chatter Screensharing adds new power to what we already call “the engine of the social enterprise,” in the words of Senior VP and Chatter General Manager Kendall Collins. Ever since Chatter first went into general release, going on two years ago, it’s steadily taken on new capabilities that have made other tools seem increasingly irrelevant; Messenger and Screensharing add real-time facilities that further extend the rich Chatter portfolio of threaded conversations, object-following updates, in-line processes, and secure external customer groups that combine to break down silos and add value to other IT assets.
VentureBeat, through an interview with Collins, reported on some of the details of the new features. According to VentureBeat, Chatter Messenger will launch around the time of Dreamforce, Salesforce’s cloud computing business conference scheduled for mid-September. Messenger will be integrated with Chatter and won’t require an extra download. Chatter Screensharing will only be tested in a closed beta during the third quarter of 2012, and has no official target date.
We’ve learned today that Stypi will be acquired by Salesforce.com, an enterprise cloud computing company. Their goal is helping businesses communicate and collaborate with customers in a safe and easy way. Stypi is a company that can help Salesforce add to their already rich portfolio of enterprise communications solutions.
Stypi specializes in online collaboration in source code editing, website copy, and a number of other situations that require online solutions to the editing process. Essentially they are a company founded on the concept of facilitating productive and simple online collaborations.
Yesterday, in their blog post, co-founder Jason Chen and Byron Milligan explained a little about the acquisition and how in Salesforce, they have found a like-minded ally. The Palo Alto startup also expressed their enthusiasm for joining up with Sales force.
Here’s what Jason Chen and Byron Milligan had to say about the acquisition:
“We’ve found that they share our vision for collaboration and all of its possibilities and together we’ll be able to create even more amazing collaboration solutions.”
“We’re super excited about this new leg in our journey, and can’t wait to share these steps with you.”
“Most importantly, Stypi will continue to be the Stypi you know. Our users will continue to have access to this great service, community, and innovation.”
So the great thing about the acquisition is their products will still be available to people who have enjoyed and taken advantage of their services in the past. Salesforce has not yet commented on the acquisition.
Adobe’s electronic signature and enterprise content management system EchoSign has today released an update to its integration with global enterprise software platform Salesforce, entitled Adobe EchoSign for Salesforce version 12. Adobe acquired EchoSign last July, in a bid to add an e-signature platform to its document exchange services, integrating the software with existing Adobe products SendNow, FormsCentral and CreatePDF. The new update at the Salesforce end facilitates faster document signing, tracking and filing – on a global level – and now allows users to:
– Merge data directly from Salesforce into their EchoSign agreements.
– Send agreements based on new pre-designed templates. Once a user has chosen a template, they simply hit the “Send to EchoSign” button to send the agreement.
– Create personalized settings for email message, recipients, attachments, agreement expiration, security elements and more.
– Further customize agreement options, allowing sales teams to create settings at the profile or user level, not just for organizational defaults.
– Automatically send a document for signature without user intervention with new workflow automation and background actions.
– Improve customer relationships by providing language support.
Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), English (UK), English (US), Finnish (Finland), French (France), German (Germany), Icelandic (Iceland), Italian (Italy), Japanese (Japan), Korean (South Korea), Norwegian (Norway), Polish (Poland), Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian (Russia), Spanish (Spain) and Swedish (Sweden).
Below is a small clip on the functionality of the EchoSign language packs:
Adopting EchoSign’s cloud-based contract and e-signature solutions cuts sales cycles by 200-400%, with 42 minutes being the average time for a document getting e-signed. EchoSign users see $900 million in transactions each month, and 97% of its customer base recommends the system. Aligned with Salesforce enterprise software, EchoSign speeds up contract management, allowing businesses to improve customer relationship management.
Salesforce.com is recognized as a leader in enterprise cloud -based computing and they have just announced a major deal that will bring many government agencies into the era of social network sharing. The contract will bring the latest social and mobile technologies to U.S. federal, state, and local agencies. It will provide a one-stop source where they can find, try and deploy cloud apps that meet their unique and different needs.
A major component of this deal is that Salesforce deliver the solutions in compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The deal propels these government agencies into the 21st century and allows them to stay up to date on innovations and upgrades in the data management and applications industry and do so without compromising security.
Vivek Kundra, executive vice president of emerging markets at Salesforce.Com comments on the deal:
“The bureaucracy of legacy government IT is preventing agencies from embracing innovative technologies that deliver immediate value,”
“We must end the era where government spends millions of dollars and waits years for IT projects that never work. Now, salesforce.com offers a solution the government needs to break down barriers to innovation and eliminate wasteful IT spending.”
John Conley, executive director of Colorado Statewide Internet Portal Authority also comments on the deal with Salesforc.com:
“We are committed to providing quality services that deliver value for Colorado taxpayers and simply make government work better,”
“Salesforce.com’s cloud technologies, including applications on AppExchange for Government, are helping us increase efficiency and provide a more responsive government that delights the constituents we serve.”
Michael Togyi, President and CEO of BasicGov, a provider of licensing, permitting and enforcement apps adds his sentiments about the partnership:
“AppExchange for Government provides a great opportunity to develop and deliver apps for government with the social, mobile and trusted capabilities of the Salesforce Platform,”
“We are excited to be one of the first partners to leverage the app marketplace to help our customers transform government for the social era.”
Dennis Wall, senior vice president at Cloud Sherpas adds to the sentiments:
“The social revolution represents an amazing opportunity for companies like ours to help government transform for the social era,”
“We’re excited about the Salesforce Government Partner Accelerator Program as we continue to build our business deploying salesforce.com’s social, mobile, and open cloud computing technologies.”
This looks like it is going to be a powerful asset for our government institutions. I think it has always been a problem for government to keep up with the fast paced technology sector, and this partnership will provide a valuable resource for our ruling body to draw from to that end. Once the these new tools are available, there will also need to be investments in training for people who should be aspiring to get the most mileage out of them.
Our ruling class is composed of many members who were around long before these advances and the new system might be met with some resistance. It will be interesting to see how it integrates into the way they do business.
Salesforce released its earnings report for fiscal Q4 and full-year 2011, beating most estimates.
Quarterly revenue was $632 Million, up 38% YoY. Full-year revenue was $2.27 Billion, up 37% YoY.
“Salesforce.com’s 38% revenue growth in the fourth quarter was a spectacular finish to our fiscal year, a year in which we delivered 37% revenue growth and added nearly 2,500 employees, including nearly 2,000 in the U.S.,” said CEO Marc Benioff. “Given the strong customer response to the social enterprise, we’re excited to raise our guidance today, which puts us on pace to exceed the $3 billion revenue run rate during FY13.”
Here’s the release in its entirety:
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/) company, today announced results for its fiscal fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended January 31, 2012.
“Salesforce.com’s 38% revenue growth in the fourth quarter was a spectacular finish to our fiscal year, a year in which we delivered 37% revenue growth and added nearly 2,500 employees, including nearly 2,000 in the U.S.,” said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “Given the strong customer response to the social enterprise, we’re excited to raise our guidance today, which puts us on pace to exceed the $3 billion revenue run rate during FY13.”
Salesforce.com delivered the following results for its fiscal fourth quarter:
Revenue: Total Q4 revenue was $632 million, an increase of 38% on a year-over-year basis. Subscription and support revenues were $594 million, an increase of 39% on a year-over-year basis. Professional services and other revenues were $38 million, an increase of 33% on a year-over-year basis.
For the full fiscal year 2012, the company reported revenue of $2.27 billion, an increase of 37% from the prior year. Subscription and support revenues were $2.13 billion, an increase of 37% on a year-over-year basis. Professional services and other revenues were $140 million, an increase of 32% on a year-over-year basis.
Earnings per Share: Q4 GAAP net loss per share was ($0.03), and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.43. The company’s non-GAAP results exclude the effects of approximately $70 million in stock-based compensation expense, approximately $20 million in amortization of purchased intangibles, and approximately $4 million in net non-cash interest expense related to the company’s convertible senior notes. Non-GAAP EPS calculations are based on approximately 142 million diluted shares outstanding during the quarter, including approximately 1.7 million shares associated with the company’s convertible senior notes. GAAP EPS calculations are based on a basic share count of approximately 137 million shares.
For the full fiscal year 2012, GAAP net loss per share was ($0.09), and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $1.36. The company’s non-GAAP results exclude the effects of approximately $229 million in stock-based compensation, approximately$67 million in amortization of purchased intangibles, and approximately $12 million in net non-cash interest expense related to the convertible senior notes. Non-GAAP EPS calculations are based on approximately 142 million diluted shares outstanding during the year, including approximately 2.8 million shares associated with the company’s convertible senior notes. GAAP EPS calculations are based on a basic share count of approximately 135 million shares.
Cash: Cash generated from operations for the fiscal fourth quarter was $240 million, an increase of 45% on a year-over-year basis. For the full fiscal year 2012, operating cash flow totaled $592 million, up 29% year-over-year. Total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities finished the quarter at approximately $1.4 billion.
Deferred Revenue: Deferred revenue on the balance sheet as of January 31, 2012 was approximately $1.38 billion, an increase of 48% on a year-over-year basis. Current deferred revenue increased by 41% to approximately $1.29 billion, benefited in part by longer invoice durations. Long term deferred revenue increased by 309% to approximately $89 million. Unbilled deferred revenue, representing business that is contracted but unbilled and off balance sheet, ended the fiscal year at approximately $2.2 billion, up from approximately $1.5 billion at the end of fiscal 2011.
As of February 23, 2012, salesforce.com is initiating revenue and EPS guidance for its first quarter of fiscal year 2013, and initiating EPS guidance for its full fiscal year 2013. In addition, the company is raising its full fiscal year 2013 revenue guidance previously provided on November 17, 2011.
Q1 FY13 Guidance: Revenue for the company’s first fiscal quarter is projected to be in the range of $673 million to $678 million, an increase of 33% to 34%, year-over-year.
GAAP net loss per share is expected to be in the range of ($0.19) to ($0.18), while diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.33 to $0.34. The non-GAAP estimate excludes the effects of stock-based compensation expense, expected to be approximately $79 million, amortization of purchased intangibles related to acquisitions, expected to be approximately $21 million, and net non-cash interest expense related to the convertible senior notes, expected to be approximately $5 million. EPS estimates assume a GAAP tax rate of approximately 3%, and a non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 38%. For the purpose of the non-GAAP EPS calculation, assume an average fully diluted share count of approximately 145 million shares, and for the GAAP EPS calculation, assume an average basic share count of approximately 138 million shares.
Full Year FY13 Guidance: The company is raising its projected full fiscal year 2013 revenue from guidance previously provided on November 17, 2011. Revenue for the company’s full fiscal year 2013 is projected to be in the range of $2.92 billion to $2.95 billion, an increase of 29% to 30%, year-over-year.
For the company’s full fiscal year 2013, GAAP net loss per share is expected to be in the range of ($0.55) to ($0.51) while diluted non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $1.58 to $1.62. The non-GAAP estimate excludes the effects of stock-based compensation expense, expected to be approximately $368 million, amortization of purchased intangibles related to acquisitions, expected to be approximately $80 million, and net non-cash interest expense related to the convertible senior notes, expected to be approximately $24 million. EPS estimates assume a GAAP tax rate of approximately 8%, and a non-GAAP tax rate of approximately 38%. For the purpose of the non-GAAP EPS calculation, assume an average fully diluted share count of approximately 149 million shares, and for the GAAP EPS calculation, assume an average basic share count of approximately 142 million shares.
The following is a per share reconciliation of GAAP EPS to non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance for the first quarter and full fiscal year:
Fiscal 2013
Q1
FY2013
GAAP EPS Range*
($0.19) – ($0.18)
($0.55) – ($0.51)
Plus
Amortization of purchased intangibles
$ 0.15
$ 0.54
Stock-based expense
$ 0.54
$ 2.47
Amortization of debt discount
$ 0.03
$ 0.16
Less
Income tax effect of certain Non-GAAP items
$ (0.20)
$ (1.04)
Non-GAAP diluted EPS
$0.33 – $0.34
$1.58 – $1.62
Shares used in computing basic net income per share (millions)
138
142
Shares used in computing diluted net income per share (millions)
145
149
* For Q1 & FY13 GAAP EPS loss, basic number of shares used for calculation
Quarterly Conference Call
Salesforce.com will host a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter fiscal year 2012 results at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time today. A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with detailed financial information, can be accessed through the company’s Investor Relations Web site at http://www.salesforce.com/investor. In addition, an archive of the webcast can be accessed through the same link. Participants who choose to call in to the conference call can do so by dialing domestically 866-901-SFDC or 866-901-7332 and internationally at +1 706-902-1764, passcode salesforce.com or 48589774. A replay will be available at 800-642-1687 or +1 706-645-9291, passcode 48589774, until midnight (Eastern Time) March 23, 2012.
About Salesforce.com
With 100,000+ customers, salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company that is leading the shift to the social enterprise. Social enterprises leverage social, mobile and open cloud technologies to put customers at the heart of their business. Based on salesforce.com‘s real-time, multitenant architecture, the company’s platform and application services include:
Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase salesforce.com applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices inEurope and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CRM.” For more information please visithttp://salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release includes information about non-GAAP EPS and non-GAAP tax rates (collectively the “non-GAAP financial measures”). Non-GAAP EPS estimates exclude the impact of the following non-cash items: stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, and the net amortization of debt discount on the company’s convertible senior notes, as well as the tax consequences associated with these items. The purpose of the non-GAAP tax rate is to quantify the excluded tax consequences of the excluded expense items. These non-GAAP estimates are not measurements of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The method used to produce non-GAAP financial measures is not computed according to GAAP and may differ from the methods used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with the company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The primary purpose of these non-GAAP measures is to provide supplemental information that may prove useful to investors who wish to consider the impact of certain non-cash items on the company’s operating performance. Non-cash stock-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, and the net amortization of debt discount on the company’s convertible senior notes are being excluded from the company’s FY12 financial results because the decisions which gave rise to these expenses were not made to increase revenue in a particular period, but were made for the company’s long-term benefit over multiple periods. While strategic decisions, such as those to issue stock-based compensation, acquire a company, or issue convertible senior notes, are made to further the company’s long-term strategic objectives and impact the company’s income statement under GAAP measures, these items affect multiple periods and management is not able to change or affect these items in any particular period. As such, supplementing GAAP disclosure with non-GAAP disclosure using the non-GAAP measures provides management with an additional view of operational performance by excluding expenses that are not directly related to performance in any particular period, and management uses both GAAP and non-GAAP measures when planning, monitoring, and evaluating the company’s performance.
In addition, the majority of the company’s industry peers report non-GAAP operating results that exclude certain non-cash or non-recurring items. Management believes that the provision of supplemental non-GAAP information will enable a more complete comparison of the company’s relative performance.
Specifically, management is excluding the following items from its non-GAAP EPS for Q4 and FY12 and its non-GAAP estimates for Q1 and FY13:
Stock-Based Expenses: The company’s compensation strategy includes the use of stock-based compensation to attract and retain employees and executives. It is principally aimed at aligning their interests with those of our stockholders and at long-term employee retention, rather than to motivate or reward operational performance for any particular period. Thus, stock-based compensation expense varies for reasons that are generally unrelated to operational decisions and performance in any particular period.
Amortization of Purchased Intangibles: The company views amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, such as the amortization of the cost associated with an acquired company’s research and development efforts, trade names, customer lists and customer relationships, as items arising from pre-acquisition activities determined at the time of an acquisition. While it is continually viewed for impairment, amortization of the cost of purchased intangibles is a static expense, one that is not typically affected by operations during any particular period.
Amortization of Debt Discount: Under GAAP, certain convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash (or other assets) on conversion are required to be separately accounted for as liability (debt) and equity (conversion option) components of the instrument in a manner that reflects the issuer’s non-convertible debt borrowing rate. Accordingly, for GAAP purposes we are required to recognize imputed interest expense on the company’s $575 million of convertible subordinated notes that were issued in a private placement in January 2010. The imputed interest rate is approximately 5.9%, while the coupon interest rate is 0.75%. The difference between the imputed interest expense and the coupon interest expense, net of the interest amount capitalized, is excluded from management’s assessment of the company’s operating performance because management believes that this non-cash expense is not indicative of ongoing operating performance. Management believes that the exclusion of the non-cash interest expense provides investors an enhanced view of the company’s operational performance.
Income Tax Effects: The company’s estimated non-GAAP effective tax rate is lower than the estimated GAAP effective tax rate due to the exclusion of the expense items described above.
“Safe harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements about expected GAAP revenue and GAAP and non-GAAP EPS for the first fiscal quarter of 2013 and the full fiscal year, the company’s expected revenue run rate and revenues in fiscal 2013, the company’s expected tax rates, stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of purchased intangibles and debt discount, and shares outstanding. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the company’s results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make.
The risks and uncertainties referred to above include – but are not limited to – risks associated with possible fluctuations in the company’s financial and operating results; the company’s rate of growth and anticipated revenue run rate, including the company’s ability to convert deferred revenue and unbilled deferred revenue into revenue and, as appropriate, cash flow, and the continued growth and ability to maintain deferred revenue and unbilled deferred revenue; errors, interruptions or delays in the company’s service or the company’s Web hosting; breaches of the company’s security measures; the financial impact of any previous and future acquisitions; the nature of the company’s business model; the company’s ability to continue to release, and gain customer acceptance of, new and improved versions of the company’s service; successful customer deployment and utilization of the company’s existing and future services; changes in the company’s sales cycle; competition; various financial aspects of the company’s subscription model; unexpected increases in attrition or decreases in new business; the emerging markets in which we operate; unique aspects of entering or expanding in international markets, the company’s ability to hire, retain and motivate employees and manage the company’s growth; changes in the company’s customer base; technological developments; regulatory developments; litigation related to intellectual property and other matters, and any related claims, negotiations and settlements; unanticipated changes in the company’s effective tax rate; fluctuations in the number of shares we have outstanding and the price of such shares; foreign currency exchange rates; collection of receivables; interest rates; the company’s plans to build and expand its campus in San Francisco, California and the associated costs; and general developments in the economy, financial markets, and credit markets.
Further information on these and other factors that could affect the company’s financial results is included in the reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the company’s Form 10-K that will be filed for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Information section of the company’s website at www.salesforce.com/investor.
Salesforce.com, inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Income (loss) before benefit (provision) for income taxes and noncontrolling interest
(7,535)
4,379
(33,317)
104,298
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
3,457
6,491
21,745
(34,601)
Consolidated net income (loss)
(4,078)
10,870
(11,572)
69,697
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
0
43
0
(5,223)
Net income (loss) attributable to salesforce.com
$ (4,078)
$ 10,913
$ (11,572)
$ 64,474
Basic net income (loss) per share attributable to salesforce.com common shareholders
$ (0.03)
$ 0.08
$ (0.09)
$ 0.50
Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to salesforce.com common shareholders
$ (0.03)
$ 0.08
$ (0.09)
$ 0.47
Shares used in computing basic net income (loss) per share
136,720
132,344
135,302
130,222
Shares used in computing diluted net income (loss) per share
136,720
140,199
135,302
136,598
(1) Amounts include amortization of purchased intangibles from business combinations, as follows:
Cost of revenues
$ 17,132
$ 5,721
$ 60,069
$ 15,459
Marketing and sales
2,751
1,146
7,250
4,209
(2) Amounts include stock-based expenses, as follows:
Cost of revenues
$ 5,283
$ 3,541
$ 17,451
$ 12,158
Research and development
14,670
6,778
45,894
18,897
Marketing and sales
35,706
19,955
115,730
56,451
General and administrative
14,441
11,440
50,183
32,923
salesforce.com, inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
As a percentage of total revenues:
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Revenues:
Subscription and support
94%
94%
94%
94%
Professional services and other
6
6
6
6
Total revenues
100
100
100
100
Cost of revenues (1)(2):
Subscription and support
16
13
16
13
Professional services and other
6
7
6
7
Total cost of revenues
22
20
22
20
Gross profit
78
80
78
80
Operating expenses (1)(2):
Research and development
12
13
13
11
Marketing and sales
52
51
52
48
General and administrative
15
16
15
15
Total operating expenses
79
80
80
74
Income (loss) from operations
(1)
0
(2)
6
Investment income
1
2
1
2
Interest expense
(1)
(1)
(1)
(2)
Other expense
0
0
0
0
Income (loss) before benefit (provision) for income taxes and noncontrolling interest
(1)
1
(2)
6
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
0
1
1
(2)
Consolidated net income (loss)
(1)
2
(1)
4
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
0
0
0
0
Net income (loss) attributable to salesforce.com
(1%)
2%
(1%)
4%
(1) Amortization of purchased intangibles from business combinations as a percentage of total revenues, as follows:
Cost of revenues
3%
1%
3%
1%
Marketing and sales
0
0
0
0
(2) Stock-based expenses as a percentage of total revenues, as follows:
Cost of revenues
1%
1%
1%
1%
Research and development
2
1
2
1
Marketing and sales
6
4
5
3
General and administrative
2
3
2
2
salesforce.com, inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
January 31,
January 31,
2012
2011
(unaudited)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 607,284
$ 424,292
Short-term marketable securities
170,582
72,678
Accounts receivable, net
683,745
426,943
Deferred commissions
98,471
67,774
Deferred income taxes
31,821
27,516
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (see additional metrics)
80,319
55,721
Total current assets
1,672,222
1,074,924
Marketable securities, noncurrent
669,308
910,587
Property and equipment, net (see additional metrics)
527,946
387,174
Deferred commissions, noncurrent
78,149
48,842
Deferred income taxes, noncurrent
87,587
41,199
Capitalized software, net (see additional metrics)
188,412
127,987
Goodwill
785,381
396,081
Other assets, net (see additional metrics)
155,149
104,371
Total assets
$ 4,164,154
$ 3,091,165
Liabilities, temporary equity and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 33,258
$ 18,106
Accrued expenses and other liabilities (see additional metrics)
502,442
345,121
Deferred revenue
1,291,622
913,239
Convertible senior notes, net
496,149
0
Total current liabilities
2,323,471
1,276,466
Convertible senior notes, net
0
472,538
Income taxes payable, noncurrent
37,258
18,481
Long-term lease liabilities and other
48,651
25,487
Deferred revenue, noncurrent
88,673
21,702
Total liabilities
2,498,053
1,814,674
Temporary equity
78,741
0
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock
137
133
Additional paid-in capital
1,415,077
1,098,604
Accumulated other comprehensive income
12,683
6,719
Retained earnings
159,463
171,035
Total stockholders’ equity
1,587,360
1,276,491
Total liabilities, temporary equity and stockholders’ equity
$ 4,164,154
$ 3,091,165
salesforce.com, inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Operating activities:
Consolidated net income (loss)
$ (4,078)
$ 10,870
$ (11,572)
$ 69,697
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net
cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
45,901
23,738
157,286
75,746
Amortization of debt discount and transaction costs
3,877
1,982
10,347
19,621
Amortization of deferred commissions
30,742
22,605
107,195
80,159
Expenses related to stock-based awards
70,100
41,714
229,258
120,429
Excess tax benefits from employee stock plans
4,994
10,777
(6,018)
(35,991)
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net
(365,099)
(169,833)
(244,947)
(102,507)
Deferred commissions
(86,947)
(56,004)
(167,199)
(121,247)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
(777)
8,464
(10,736)
2,001
Other assets
2,816
(365)
2,883
(9,770)
Accounts payable
3,716
(5,254)
12,644
1,246
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
72,628
36,684
67,692
132,004
Deferred revenue
462,474
240,384
444,674
227,693
Net cash provided by operating activities
240,347
165,762
591,507
459,081
Investing activities:
Business combinations, net of cash acquired
(57,914)
(247,994)
(422,699)
(403,331)
Land activity and building improvements
(6,565)
(269,944)
(19,655)
(277,944)
Strategic investments
(2,647)
(13,605)
(37,370)
(20,105)
Changes in marketable securities
(45,608)
179,346
141,679
(270,287)
Capital expenditures
(44,602)
(30,576)
(151,645)
(90,887)
Net cash used in investing activities
(157,336)
(382,773)
(489,690)
(1,062,554)
Financing activities:
Purchase of subsidiary stock
0
(19,721)
0
(171,964)
Proceeds from equity plans
26,203
44,406
116,565
160,402
Excess tax benefits from employee stock plans
(4,994)
(10,777)
6,018
35,991
Contingent consideration payment related to prior business combinations
0
0
(16,200)
0
Principal payments on capital lease obligations
(8,737)
(3,198)
(30,533)
(10,355)
Net cash provided by financing activities
12,472
10,710
75,850
14,074
Effect of exchange rate changes
8,814
290
5,325
2,385
Net increase (decrease) in cash and
cash equivalents
104,297
(206,011)
182,992
(587,014)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
502,987
630,303
424,292
1,011,306
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$ 607,284
$ 424,292
$ 607,284
$ 424,292
salesforce.com, inc.
Additional Metrics
(Unaudited)
Jan 31,
Oct 31,
Jul 31,
Apr 30,
Jan 31,
Oct 31,
2012
2011
2011
2011
2011
2010
Full Time Equivalent Headcount
7,785
6,953
6,352
5,513
5,306
4,758
Financial data (in thousands):
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
$ 1,447,174
$ 1,296,693
$ 1,286,658
$ 1,522,285
$ 1,407,557
$ 1,802,440
Deferred revenue, current and noncurrent
$ 1,380,295
$ 917,821
$ 935,266
$ 915,133
$ 934,941
$ 694,557
Selected Balance Sheet Accounts (in thousands):
Jan 31,
Oct 31,
Jan 31,
2012
2011
2011
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Deferred professional services costs
$ 10,399
$ 13,563
$ 17,908
Prepaid income taxes
12,785
13,137
720
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
57,135
52,728
37,093
$ 80,319
$ 79,428
$ 55,721
Property and Equipment, net
Land
$ 248,263
$ 248,263
$ 248,263
Building improvements
43,868
34,974
10,115
Computers, equipment and software
232,460
223,288
115,736
Furniture and fixtures
25,250
24,622
20,462
Leasehold improvements
137,587
125,838
100,380
687,428
656,985
494,956
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization
(159,482)
(152,158)
(107,782)
$ 527,946
$ 504,827
$ 387,174
Capitalized Software, net
Capitalized internal-use software development costs, net of accumulated amortization
$ 41,442
$ 35,475
$ 29,154
Acquired developed technology, net of accumulated amortization
146,970
163,938
98,833
$ 188,412
$ 199,413
$ 127,987
Other Assets, net
Deferred professional services costs, noncurrent portion
$ 3,935
$ 5,707
$ 10,201
Long-term deposits
13,941
13,887
12,114
Purchased intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization
46,110
45,410
31,660
Acquired intellectual property, net of accumulated amortization
15,020
13,895
5,874
Strategic investments
53,949
55,035
27,065
Other
22,194
22,484
17,457
$ 155,149
$ 156,418
$ 104,371
Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities
Accrued compensation
$ 228,466
$ 145,116
$ 148,275
Accrued other liabilities
121,957
134,741
112,840
Accrued income and other taxes payable
100,471
78,819
49,135
Accrued professional costs
21,993
22,836
12,548
Accrued rent
29,555
27,638
22,323
$ 502,442
$ 409,150
$ 345,121
Selected Off-Balance Sheet Accounts
Unbilled Deferred Revenue, a non-GAAP measure
Unbilled deferred revenue was approximately $2.2 billion as of January 31, 2012 and $1.5 billion as of January 31, 2011. Unbilled deferred revenue represents future billings under our non-cancelable subscription agreements that have not been invoiced and, accordingly, are not recorded in deferred revenue.
Supplemental Revenue Analysis
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Revenues by geography (in thousands):
Americas
$ 436,237
$ 308,526
$ 1,540,289
$ 1,135,019
Europe
108,141
82,933
408,456
291,784
Asia Pacific
87,535
65,408
317,794
230,336
$ 631,913
$ 456,867
$ 2,266,539
$ 1,657,139
As a percentage of total revenues:
Revenues by geography:
Americas
69
%
68
%
68
%
68
%
Europe
17
18
18
18
Asia Pacific
14
14
14
14
100
%
100
%
100
%
100
%
Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended
January 31, 2012
October 31, 2011
January 31, 2011
compared to Three Months
compared to Three Months
compared to Three Months
Ended January 31, 2011
Ended October 31, 2010
Ended January 31, 2010
Revenue constant currency growth rates (as compared to the comparable prior periods)
Americas
41%
36%
26%
Europe
32%
29%
41%
Asia Pacific
28%
31%
35%
Total growth
38%
34%
30%
We present constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying business performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are converted into United States dollars at the exchange rates in effect at the end of each quarter for growth rate calculations presented, rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during that period.
Supplemental Diluted Sharecount Information
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Weighted-average shares outstanding for basic earnings per share
136,720
132,344
135,302
130,222
Effect of dilutive securities (1):
Convertible senior notes
1,700
2,421
2,263
1,561
Warrants associated with the convertible senior note hedges
0
696
553
0
Employee stock awards
3,407
4,738
4,177
4,815
Adjusted weighted-average shares outstanding and assumed conversions for diluted earnings per share
141,827
140,199
142,295
136,598
(1)
The effects of these dilutive securities were not included in the GAAP calculation of diluted earnings/loss per share for the three and twelve months ended January 31, 2012 because the effect would have been anti-dilutive.
Supplemental Cash Flow Information
Free cash flow analysis, a non-GAAP measure
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Operating cash flow-
GAAP net cash provided by operating activities
$ 240,347
$ 165,762
$ 591,507
$ 459,081
Less:
Capital expenditures
(44,602)
(30,576)
(151,645)
(90,887)
Free cash flow
$ 195,745
$ 135,186
$ 439,862
$ 368,194
Our free cash flow analysis includes GAAP net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. The capital expenditures balance does not include any costs related to the purchase and activities related to the building of our campus and strategic investments.
salesforce.com, inc.
GAAP RESULTS RECONCILED TO NON-GAAP RESULTS
The following table reflects selected salesforce.com GAAP results reconciled to non-GAAP results
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Gross profit
GAAP gross profit
$ 495,568
$ 364,556
$ 1,777,653
$ 1,333,326
Plus:
Amortization of purchased intangibles (b)
17,132
5,721
60,069
15,459
Stock-based expenses (c)
5,283
3,541
17,451
12,158
Non-GAAP gross profit
$ 517,983
$ 373,818
$ 1,855,173
$ 1,360,943
Operating expenses
GAAP operating expenses
$ 501,945
$ 364,947
$ 1,812,738
$ 1,235,829
Less:
Amortization of purchased intangibles (b)
(2,751)
(1,146)
(7,250)
(4,209)
Stock-based expenses (c)
(64,817)
(38,173)
(211,807)
(108,271)
Non-GAAP operating expenses
$ 434,377
$ 325,628
$ 1,593,681
$ 1,123,349
Income from operations
GAAP income (loss) from operations
$ (6,377)
$ (391)
$ (35,085)
$ 97,497
Plus:
Amortization of purchased intangibles (b)
19,883
6,867
67,319
19,668
Stock-based expenses (c)
70,100
41,714
229,258
120,429
Non-GAAP income from operations
$ 83,606
$ 48,190
$ 261,492
$ 237,594
Non-operating income (a)
GAAP non-operating income (loss)
$ (1,158)
$ 4,770
$ 1,768
$ 6,801
Plus: Amortization of debt discount, net
4,144
2,430
12,335
19,079
Non-GAAP non-operating income
$ 2,986
$ 7,200
$ 14,103
$ 25,880
Net income attributable to salesforce.com
GAAP net income (loss) attributable to salesforce.com
$ (4,078)
$ 10,913
$ (11,572)
$ 64,474
Plus:
Amortization of purchased intangibles
19,883
6,867
67,319
19,668
Stock-based expenses
70,100
41,714
229,258
120,429
Amortization of debt discount, net
4,144
2,430
12,335
19,079
Less:
Income tax effect of Non-GAAP items
(28,419)
(18,854)
(103,730)
(57,544)
Non-GAAP net income attributable to salesforce.com
$ 61,630
$ 43,070
$ 193,610
$ 166,106
Diluted earnings per share
GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share (d)
$ (0.03)
$ 0.08
$ (0.09)
$ 0.47
Plus:
Amortization of purchased intangibles
0.14
0.05
0.47
0.14
Stock-based expenses
0.49
0.30
1.62
0.88
Amortization of debt discount, net
0.03
0.01
0.09
0.14
Less:
Income tax effect of Non-GAAP items
(0.20)
(0.13)
(0.73)
(0.41)
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share attributable to salesforce.com
$ 0.43
$ 0.31
$ 1.36
$ 1.22
Shares used in computing diluted net income per share
141,827
140,199
142,295
136,598
a)
Non-operating income consists of investment income, interest expense and other income (expense)
b)
Amortization of purchased intangibles were as follows:
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Cost of revenues
$ 17,132
$ 5,721
$ 60,069
$ 15,459
Marketing and sales
2,751
1,146
7,250
4,209
$ 19,883
$ 6,867
$ 67,319
$ 19,668
c)
Stock-based expenses were as follows:
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Cost of revenues
$ 5,283
$ 3,541
$ 17,451
$ 12,158
Research and development
14,670
6,778
45,894
18,897
Marketing and sales
35,706
19,955
115,730
56,451
General and administrative
14,441
11,440
50,183
32,923
$ 70,100
$ 41,714
$ 229,258
$ 120,429
d)
Reported GAAP loss per share was calculated using the basic share count.
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was calculated using the diluted share count.
salesforce.com, inc.
COMPUTATION OF BASIC AND DILUTED GAAP AND NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
GAAP Basic Net Income (loss) Per Share
Net income (loss) attributable to salesforce.com
$ (4,078)
$ 10,913
$ (11,572)
$ 64,474
Basic net income (loss) per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
(0.03)
0.08
(0.09)
0.50
Shares used in computing basic net income (loss) per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
136,720
132,344
135,302
130,222
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Non-GAAP Basic Net Income Per Share
Non-GAAP net income attributable to salesforce.com
$ 61,630
$ 43,070
$ 193,610
$ 166,106
Basic Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
0.45
0.33
1.43
1.28
Shares used in computing basic net income per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
136,720
132,344
135,302
130,222
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
GAAP Diluted Net Income (loss) Per Share
Net income (loss) attributable to salesforce.com
$ (4,078)
$ 10,913
$ (11,572)
$ 64,474
Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
(0.03)
0.08
(0.09)
0.47
Shares used in computing diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
136,720
140,199
135,302
136,598
Three Months Ended January 31,
Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
2012
2011
2012
2011
Non-GAAP Diluted Net Income Per Share
Non-GAAP net income attributable to salesforce.com
$ 61,630
$ 43,070
$ 193,610
$ 166,106
Diluted Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
0.43
0.31
1.36
1.22
Shares used in computing diluted net income per share attributable to salesforce.com common stockholders
Earlier this week, Salesforce announced the launch of a new customer service platform called Desk.com. The service is cloud-based and integrates social media as well as traditional channels including email and phone.
According to Alex Bard, the Vice President and General Manager of Desk.com, Salesforce developed the platform because it recognizes the challenges businesses have with customer service.
What’s the biggest challenge your business faces over customer service? Please share.
As Bard explained, Salesforce talked with thousands of businesses about their customer service needs. What they found was that these businesses want a customer service platform that is social, mobile, and simple.
“In today’s world, really the driving factor is the customer, and the customer is now social… the customer is now mobile… and the customer is global,” he said.
Social has quickly become an important component to businesses because it is such an integral part of everyday life. Simply put, it creates an ideal channel for reaching masses of people. Companies such as Southwest Airlines and Budweiser recognize this and have utilized social channels to handle and defuse any damaging situations.
“That pressure is forcing big companies and small businesses to revisit their tools and process and, really, philosophy around customer support,” said Bard.
He went on to say that investing in social was just as important as investing in traditional methods.
The mobile capability that businesses need is also very important because customer service issues happen any time during the day or night.
“For these businesses, business doesn’t stop when you leave the office,” said Bard.
Therefore, businesses need to be able to address these issues no matter where they are.
To answer the simplicity factor, Bard said Desk.com can be set up very quickly and doesn’t need IT help.
“[Desk.com] helps you capture all your interactions across these channels – social and traditional – it’s got a mobile aspect that helps you carry your help desk with you no matter where you go… and finally, it literally takes just minutes to set up,” Bard summed up.
Desk.com is geared toward small and medium-size businesses and also provides overall management capabilities such as easy reporting. As for pricing, the first seat is free, but every subscription added after that is $49 per month.
Do you see Desk.com helping to meet your customer service needs? Let us know.
Salesforce announced the launch of a new “social help desk” called Desk.com in desktop and mobile versions.
“Desk.com and Desk.com Mobile enable businesses to deliver personal customer service using a help desk that is social, mobile, and easy to use and deploy: key attributes for any SMB today looking to leverage social enterprise technologies,” spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews.
“Desk.com gives companies a simple and affordable help desk they can use to engage customers on social media, email, chat, or phone,” she adds. “Even companies without IT staffs can get up and running over a weekend and for as little as $49. And, with the launch of Desk.com Mobile, companies can carry a help desk in their pocket and answer customers on the go.”
Desk.com is actually a product of Assistly, which Salesforce acquired in September.
“We built Desk.com so that every company can deliver personal customer service in a social and mobile world. Desk.com is social at its core; its mobile app instantly lets any employee, anywhere, deliver awesome customer service; and it can be deployed quickly and easily,” says Alex Bard, VP and GM of Desk.com.
It probably goes without saying that the product includes Facebook and Twitter integration (though no mention of Google+).
The mobile version is built with HTML5, and supports iPhone and Android devices.
Both the desktop and mobile versions are available today. Pricing starts at $49 per full-time agent, per month, for unlimited usage. Flex pricing is also available for $1 per part-time agent, per hour. The mobile version is free with the desktop version.
Although Yammer and Salesforce have had a bit of a rocky past, Yammer recently announced that it was integrating activity streams from Salesforce into its own service. This means that sales leads, marketing campaigns, and other content that is entered into Salesforce will appear in Yammer’s stream as well.
The announcement was a bit surprising especially since it was just earlier this year that Yammer CEO David Sacks slammed Salesforce over its new social service Chatter. He told Chris Crum of WebProNews:
“Chatter is Yammer circa 2009,” he said. “There are no features we didn’t have two years ago. Obviously we’re on to Yammer 2011, so they’re pretty far behind. From an innovation standpoint, the launch of Chatter.com is a total non-event.”
Here is a video account that further details the history between the two companies:
However, as Sacks explained to us just recently, Yammer released its activity stream API not long ago in order for other enterprise applications to be able to push their stories into Yammer’s stream. In other words, as long as another company has an accessible API, Yammer can integrate their activity into its feeds without a formal partnership between the companies taking place.
He told us that the integration with Salesforce happened this way and that it allows the activity stream to be socialized and shared with more of the company.
“By pushing these activity streams into Yammer, these stories can now be shared with a much wider range of employees,” said Sacks. “It can, basically, be shared across the whole company.”
He refers to Yammer as a “private enterprise version of Facebook or Twitter” and said that the company’s goal was to “bring into Yammer all the conversations that are relevant to employees of the company.” Because social networking is one of the most efficient forms of communication today, he believes that enterprise applications should encourage socialization and sharing throughout the entire company. If not, the company will become siloed with each department dependent upon its own social network.
“You still need, we think, a social layer across all these applications where we can aggregate these feeds,” said Sacks.
Yammer is striving to become this “social layer” and believes that this integration will help it meet this goal.
In an effort to let people know about this integration, and its integration with NetSuite, the company launched a “Friends with Benefits” campaign, coincidentally during Salesforce’s Dreamforce event. The company went all out for the event and even had a Yammer mascot holding hands with the Salesforce mascot promoting its free Starbucks drink.
“Certainly, Salesforce is a very special friend with benefits, but it’s not our only friend with benefits,” said Sacks.
He also told us that Yammer hopes to work with more enterprise applications in the future.
Salesforce had a slew of announcements at its Dreamforce conference, including a new version of Chatter called Chatter Now. Also announced as part of what the company is calling the “Social Enteprise,” were: Chatter Approvals, Chatter Customer Groups, Chatter Service and Data.com, which the company says will accelerate social app adoption in the enterprise.
Also announced was touch.salesforce.com, designed to bring mobile apps into the social enterprise with HTML5, optimized for touch devices for all Salesforce and Force.com apps.
Salesforce also announced Heroku for Java, Chatter Connect and Database.com, which the comp;any says, “will deliver the most open, flexible and social enterprise platform in the industry.
“Our social enterprise vision fundamentally changes how companies collaborate, share and manage information,” said Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff. “By creating social customer profiles, employee social networks, customer social networks and product social networks, companies can delight their customers in entirely new ways.”
Here’s how Salesforce describes each product:
Chatter Now: Chatter Now will deliver real-time collaboration by enabling users to see when their colleagues are online, instantly chat with them in context and share their screen without leaving Chatter.
Chatter Customer Groups: For the first time, Chatter users will be able to invite people outside of their organization into their Chatter network to collaborate. Chatter users can invite customers and partners to collaborate in private, secure groups, which will extend enterprise collaboration beyond the four walls of a company.
Chatter Approvals: With Chatter Approvals, users will be able to take action on any approval process from directly within their Chatter feed. Sales discounts, hiring decisions, vacation requests and more can all be approved without having to leave Chatter. Approval processes will now have context, including comments and documents, to help increase productivity and help users make informed decisions.
Chatter Service: Salesforce Service Cloud is creating the ultimate self-service destination for the social enterprise with Chatter Service. With Chatter Service, customers will be able to ask their question once in a familiar social feed, and have the answer come to them in an instant–whether it’s from the knowledge base, the community of experts or a service agent. Chatter Service will also connect to public social networks, such as Facebook, extending the community far beyond the boundaries of a traditional self-service portal. Customers have gone social and the Service Cloud, with Chatter Service, is the way that companies can create a social, self-service community to delight their customers
Data.com: Launching at Dreamforce, Data.com gives sales and marketing professionals the information they need to effectively plan, target and execute sales and marketing campaigns – all within Salesforce. Data.com will unify socially-crowd sourced contact information from Jigsaw and company information from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) in one place to help customers build and maintain social customer profiles.
Touch.salesforce.com will deliver an optimized experience of Salesforce apps and customizations for touch devices. Leveraging the open standard HTML5 technology, touch.salesforce.com will allow users to access salesforce.com from the most popular smart phones, tablet devices and operating systems. Touch.salesforce.com will also enhance the Force.com platform to become the destination for developing trusted, enterprise mobile apps. Not only will Force.com developers be able to mobilize existing Force.com apps, they will also be able to build new, secure mobile apps quickly and easily.
Heroku for Java: Heroku now gives more than 6 million enterprise Java developers a clear path to build social, mobile and open cloud apps. Enterprises and developers have made significant investments in Java skills. Now, those skills and investments can be applied to creating the social enterprise by developing customer and product social networks. Java joins Ruby on Rails, Clojure and Node.js as the fourth language for the Heroku platform. For more information and technical details about Java on Heroku, visit http://www.heroku.com/java
Chatter Connect: Chatter Connect makes other applications social by extending Chatter to custom and third-party applications. The Chatter REST API makes it easy for developers to integrate Chatter into other applications, such as intranets and portals, custom mobile apps and other enterprise apps. In addition, Chatter for SharePoint allows companies to make SharePoint social – companies will be able to embed Chatter feeds in a Sharepoint MySite or TeamSite and share documents from Sharepoint to Chatter.
Database.com is GA: Database.com, the underlying cloud database already serving the company’s 100,000+ customers, is now generally available to all enterprises. Database.com is a proven multi-tenant database, managing more than 36 billion transactions and 13 billion custom objects in the second quarter alone. It is open, massively scalable, automatically elastic and built from the ground up to power this new generation of social and mobile cloud applications.
Database.com Data Residency Option: The new Database.com Data Residency Option will be for companies that want to take full advantage of the cloud, but have requirements, policies or perceptions that may prevent them from gaining the strategic benefits that cloud computing has to offer. With Database.com Data Residency Option, companies will have the option of keeping readable versions of sensitive data where they want, allowing them to take full use of salesforce.com’s trusted cloud computing model.
Also worth noting, Salesforce has Metallica headlining the Dreamforce Global Gala:
According to Alex Bard, the Vice President and General Manager of Desk.com, 
