More Google / Salesforce.com partnership rumours
It looks like the Google / Salesforce.com partnership rumours are stirring up again this week, with a conf call scheduled for this Tuesday AM causing the renewed suspicions.
Normally, I wouldn't be so interested in "gossip" until I hear actual announcements made, however this potiential partnership intruiges me. Some of the speculation reported this weekend includes variatons on the following themes:
- Integrating Google's Apps suite with Salesforce.com's hosted CRM
- Google potentially looking to acquire Salesforce.com at some point
- Google to get an anti-Office toehold in the enterprise out of the deal and Salesforce would get an in with SMBs
- Apex, Salesforce's software language, might be part of the deal and be used to create business applications for AppExchange, Salesforce's online marketplace for third-party software programs
Given previous partnership efforts between Google and Salesforce.com around Google's Search Appliance and AdWords, Salesforce.com's focus on the SMB space and Google's intent to develop further its B2B market opportunities, I'd say #1 is most likely, #3 would make sense but I don't see how the pieces would fit together, #4 as unlikely and #2 (Google acquires Salesforce.com) as highly unlikely. I'd also add my speculation - that new APIs might be announced as part of whatever the news is on Tuesday.
Update 6/4/2007:
The actual news turns out to be much less interesting than the speculated outcomes: Adwords integration with Salesforce Group Edition.