Benioff: Salesforce is the real pioneer in cloud computing

Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce.com, a leading customer relationship management software and cloud computing solution provider, has recently been in the U.S. talk show host, Charlie Ross, according to the latest published business weekly Report, Benioff Rose) talked about his 13 years of experience in the software field, the rapid development of technology in recent years, and how to integrate the character of the generous atmosphere into salesforce.com.

The following is a summary of the interview:

Ross: How do you introduce your business to people who don't know Salesforce?

Benioff: Salesforce is a real pioneer in cloud computing. Similar to the use of Amazon, ebay and Google, users can use the same technology to manage their business. Businesses that reach a certain size must buy software that is appropriate for their own development, build their own data centers, and operate around these software and data centers. The message we convey to our users is simple: if you can buy books on Amazon, sell auctions on ebay, or use Google for Web searches, you can manage your business the same way. Come and meet Salesforce.

Ross: How long have you been playing in the software field?

Benioff: 13. The goal we have been striving to achieve is that we can dramatically reduce the cost of our businesses. Reducing IT expenditure is the most important to reduce the cost of the enterprise. The thing we do is to keep up with technology innovators, such as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg Zuckerberg, Google CEO Larry Page Larry Page) and one of the founders of Serge-Brin (Sergey Brinn). No matter what they do, we will copy it to the Enterprise domain. We are not investors, we are not the pioneers of social networks. But when it comes to discovering new tools such as social networks, we're going to do everything we can to develop services around them.

Ross: Salesforce doesn't seem to have been selected for the most innovative company in the year?

Benioff: We are committed to continuously surpass ourselves. I've always regarded myself as a disciple of Steve Jobs. I worked for jobs at Apple in 1984. I was in the Macintosh department responsible for compiling assembly language code.

Ross: You've written a language code. But you just don't like software.

Benioff: I like software, but I just want to express the function of the software in different ways. I want the software to come in a different way. And I think the idea is very influential. Interestingly, in areas like the tech industry, if you can't introduce new ideas, it's hard for the industry to make progress. Countless success stories in the technology industry have proved this many times. It's like going through the same things every day, and suddenly one day you find that there is a new thing in the market and you are particularly interested in it.

Ross: Some media say the technology industry has gone through a succession of dynasties. Talk about the next generation of science and technology industry talent.

Benioff: I think Mark Zuckerberg is very visionary, and many more than 30-year-old entrepreneurs, including Page and Brin, are still visionary, and Bezos are constantly breaking through, and more new rivals and new entrepreneurs will emerge. The constant emergence of young people is the most exciting thing for the tech industry. By the same count, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and LinkedIn founder Reed Hoffman (Reid Hoffman). With the gradual maturation of the technology industry, the founders of these industries have also been recognized by people. Steve Jobs has become the founder of the PC.

Ross: What about the tablet computer?

Benioff: I will attend a seminar in New York next Wednesday, when the attendees will reach 10,000. Then I'll ask them, "How many of you have an ipad?" "I want half of the attendees to hold their hands aloft," he said. The development of the tablet market has only been in the 1 August. Now, things are growing faster than ever before, and their openness and transparency have been unexpected. Any organization and government that cannot keep up with this pace of development and transparency will quickly become obsolete.

Ross: Now your concern about philanthropy seems to outweigh your own wealth. Are you still sticking to your "three one" principle?

Benioff: Yes. When the Salesforce.com was created, we decided to take out 1% of the company's shares, 1% of the profits and 1% of the company's employees to invest in public philanthropy. At the time, it was very simple, because we had no profits and no time and shares. Since then, however, Salesforce.com has grown into a company with tens of billions of dollars in market capitalisation. We now offer free services to more than 10,000 non-profit organizations, including universities. We will also provide hundreds of thousands of hours of free service to the community. Google and other companies have emulated our "three-one" model. This has become Salesforce.com's most successful career, far greater than our own business success. This is the ability to motivate others to work together in philanthropy, and Silicon Valley technology companies have been overlooked.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)