Salesforce.com Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Marc Benioff, shares untold details of how the company went from idea to billion-dollar phenomenon and revolutionized an industry 'Behind the Cloud' offers 10 playbooks showing companies how to be successful now - includes everything from marketing to sales; management tools to global expansion Foreword by Dell Founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Dell and endorsements from Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and musician Neil Young SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing company (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing), today announced the availability of "Behind the Cloud," a new book by Founder and CEO Marc Benioff and published by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/SFW105LOGO) "Behind the Cloud" will, for the first time, offer a personal insider's view of the creation of a cloud computing giant and tell the story of how salesforce.com brought businesses into the cloud in an era dominated by mass consumer cloud services like Facebook, Google and Twitter. Benioff shares personal stories of the pivotal situations that salesforce.com encountered on its ascent. "Behind the Cloud" provides readers with a practical, how-to guide, including 10 playbooks with 111 plays that are packaged as case studies so entrepreneurs and existing business executives may employ the secrets to salesforce.com's success. Readers will uncover the plays used to take salesforce.com from idea to billion-dollar company in just 10 years, all while revolutionizing the technology industry. But "Behind the Cloud" is about more than just technology. Benioff details the company's innovative integrated philanthropy model that has generated $14 million in grants, 150,000 hours of donated employee service and 6,000 successful nonprofit organizations running on salesforce.com's service. For every entrepreneur, and anyone interested in cloud computing, this is a must-read. "In 'Behind the Cloud,' I offer an insider's guide on how to replicate our success, including how to build a business that's not just profitable, but inspiring: good for your employees, good for your customers, and good for your community," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. "At a time when more entrepreneurs are starting companies faster and cheaper than ever before, the simple, accessible, and unconventional advice offered here will help you stand out, innovate better, and grow faster in any economic climate." Coauthored by Carlye Adler, "Behind the Cloud" includes a foreword by Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell, and 10 playbooks with 111 plays to guide readers to on a path to their own success. Playbooks include: -- The Start-Up Playbook: How to Turn a Simple Idea into a High-Growth Company -- The Marketing Playbook: How to Cut Through the Noise and Pitch the Bigger Picture -- The Events Playbook: How to Use Events to Build Buzz and Drive Business -- The Sales Playbook: How to Energize Your Customer into a Million-Member Sales Team -- The Technology Playbook: How to Develop Products Users Love -- The Corporate Philanthropy Playbook: How to Make Your Company About More Than Just the Bottom Line -- The Global Playbook: How to Launch Your Product and Introduce Your Model to New Markets -- The Finance Playbook: How to Raise Capital, Create a Return, and Never Sell Your Soul -- The Leadership Playbook: How to Create Alignment -- the Key to Organizational Success -- The Final Play: Make Everyone Successful Leaders from every Industry Lauding "Behind the Cloud" -- "Cisco and salesforce.com share a vision of how the network is the platform to transform business. In his book, Benioff outlines how salesforce.com has used cloud computing to disrupt and reshape the enterprise software space. It is clear that we are just beginning to understand the potential of networked business and the future benefits and productivity gains of the next phase of the Internet." --John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco -- "A great guide for any aspiring entrepreneur or CEO navigating the landscape of the future. It's the playbook for Enterprise 2.0." --Michael Dell, founder, chairman and CEO, Dell -- "'Behind the Cloud' demonstrates what happens when companies act as good citizens. Everyone--from employees to shareholders to the company--wins. Get ready to be inspired and make a difference." --Charles Moore, executive director, Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy -- "In 'Behind the Cloud,' Marc Benioff takes us through the ups and downs of building one of the most extraordinary businesses of our time and reveals the tactics that gave salesforce.com its amazing edge. This book will show you how to focus your vision, think differently, align your organization--and transform your business and your life." --Anthony Robbins, author of "Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power," and professional speaker -- "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 -- "Reading, but also afterwards, practicing the 111 plays described by Marc Benioff opens the door for entrepreneurial success much better than any MBA Program." --Klaus Schwab, founder, World Economic Forum and co-founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship -- "Reading this book, I laughed out loud many times as Marc told his story, a story of great ideas, thunder-stealing pranks, and a world consciousness that is at the heart of salesforce.com." --Neil Young, musician Additional Resources -- "Behind the Cloud" (http://www.salesforce.com/behindthecloud/) -- Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BehindTheCloud) -- Salesforce.com Foundation (http://www.salesforcefoundation.org/) -- YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvXe9_ikY-A) -- YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qndFluemy9Q) -- YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoBgW1fb6xM) Pricing and Availability "Behind the Cloud" is available beginning today for $27.95 at a variety of retailers, including: -- Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Cloud-Salesforce-com-Billion-Dollar-Comp any/dp/0470521163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255378694&sr=8-1) -- Barnes & Noble (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Behind-the-Cloud/Marc-Benioff/e/9780 470521168/?itm=1&USRI=behind+the+cloud) -- Borders (http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0470521163) -- CEORead (http://800ceoread.com/book/show/9780470521168-Behind_the_Cloud) -- Wiley (http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470535903.html) All of Benioff's proceeds from the book will go toward the Salesforce.com Foundation. About the Authors In 2000, Marc Benioff launched the Salesforce.com Foundation--now a multimillion-dollar global organization--establishing the '1-1-1 model,' whereby the company contributes one percent of profits, one percent of equity, and one percent of employee hours back to the communities it serves. The World Economic Forum named Benioff as one of its Young Global Leaders, and in 2007 the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy presented Benioff with the coveted Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award. Salesforce.com has been voted one of the world's most ethical companies by Business Ethics Magazine, one of the best companies to work for by Fortune, and in 2008, Benioff was awarded CEO of the Year Award by CRO Magazine. Benioff is also the author of The Business of Changing the World and Compassionate Capitalism. Prior to launching salesforce.com, Benioff spent 13 years at Oracle Corporation. He founded his first company, Liberty Software, when he was 15 years old. He lives in San Francisco, California. Carlye Adler is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in BusinessWeek, Condé Nast Portfolio, Fast Company, Fortune, Time, Wired, and many other publications. She co-wrote, with salesforce.com chairman and CEO Marc Benioff, The Business of Changing the World: Twenty Great Leaders on Strategic Corporate Philanthropy. She has been twice named one of the most influential business journalists under the age of 30 by The Journalist & Financial Reporting (TJFR) Group. Her story on the hefty price of investing in a Krispy Kreme franchise was selected for inclusion in The Best Business Stories of the Year, 2003 Edition. She lives in New York City. About salesforce.com Salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company. The company's portfolio of Salesforce CRM applications, available at http://www.salesforce.com/products/, has revolutionized the ways that companies collaborate and communicate with their customers across sales, marketing and service. The company's Force.com platform (http://www.salesforce.com/platform/) helps customers, partners and developers to quickly build powerful business applications to run every part of the enterprise in the cloud. Based on salesforce.com's real-time, multitenant architecture, Salesforce CRM and Force.com offer the fastest path to customer success with cloud computing. As of July 31, 2009, salesforce.com manages customer information for approximately 63,200 customers including Allianz Commercial, Dell, Dow Jones Newswires, Japan Post, Kaiser Permanente, KONE, and SunTrust Banks. 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 in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM". For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com/, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE. Copyright (c) 2009 salesforce.com, inc. All rights reserved. Salesforce and the "no software" logo are registered trademarks of salesforce.com, inc., and salesforce.com owns other registered and unregistered trademarks. Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050216/SFW105LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: salesforce.com CONTACT: Jane Hynes of salesforce.com, +1-415-901-5079, Web Site: http://www.salesforce.com/

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