Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company-and Revolutionized an Industry

Behind the Cloud

“Salesforce.com and Google share a vision for how the cloud will revolutionize computing. Behind the Cloud gives us a rare glimpse at the development of one of the most important trends in business today.” —Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

How do you turn a simple idea into a multi-billion dollar company? Just ask Marc Benioff, visionary founder, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com

In his new book Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company—and Revolutionized an Industry (Jossey-Bass, October 2009, 978-0-470-52116-8, $27.95), Benioff explains how salesforce.com grew from a start-up in a rented apartment into the world’s fastest growing software company in less than a decade. Through compelling, candid, and unlikely first person stories, Benioff shows how salesforce.com pioneered a simple idea (delivering business applications as a service over the Internet) to change the way businesses use software applications, and ended up changing the inner workings of the entire software industry. With Benioff’s unconventional advice and lessons from the Salesforce.com Playbook, any business can go against the grain, rapidly change the game, and learn how to achieve success. This book will help you:

• Establish an international presence quickly by thinking globally from the very beginning, and raise significant start-up money creatively.
• Align your organization through Benioff’s proprietary management tool, V2MOM.
• Integrate philanthropy into your business using Benioff’s unique 1/1/1 model that has since been implemented by myriad companies, including Google.
• Evolve a product or service from adoption to addiction by using Benioff’s “Feedback Loop,” which allows you to give customers what they ask for (not what you think they’ll ask for).

In Behind the Cloud, Benioff shares how he and his team not only survived the dotcom implosion of 2001, but went on to use new business, technology, and philanthropy models

tailored to this extraordinary time in order to become the leader of the cloud computing revolution and spark a $46-billion dollar industry. With his perceptive and insightful advice, Benioff shares the strategies that have inspired employees, turned customers into evangelists, engaged an ecosystem of partners, and allowed a new industry to emerge.

Behind the Cloud

By Marc Benioff and Carlye Adler
Jossey-Bass; October 2009; $27.95

978-0-470-52116-8

About Wiley

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley’s core business include scientific, technical, and medical journals; encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley’s global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. www.wiley.com