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Dave Moellenhoff
ASP founder predicts the end of software as we know it
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AFTER BURSTING OUT OF THE GATE two years ago
amid lofty expectations, ASPs have endured user
apathy and a battered existence. But behind CTO
Dave Moellenhoff, Salesforce.com is helping to get
ASPs back on track and prove that outsourcing and
the software ownership model are changing.
Determined to broaden the benefits of CRM via a
Web-based model as well as reach a valuable but
ignored customer base unable to afford and configure
off-the-shelf solutions, San Francisco-based
Salesforce.com set out to build a flexible
architecture from scratch that would be capable of
scaling applications, Moellenhoff says.
"Up until we came along there was high-end CRM
[software], like Siebel and Clarify. It was too
expensive. Most people in the small-to-[midsize]
market couldn't afford a $5,000-a-seat license," Moellenhoff says. "We were
trying to take this functionality that was reserved for the very few privileged
with money and bring it to everybody because everyone could use it."
Moellenhoff says Salesforce.com sought to dispel the notion of an ASP as
taking existing client/server applications and hosting them. Instead, the CRM
vendor built a multitenant architecture featuring many companies "living" and
receiving applications inside the same network stack layer to amortize costs
in bold new strokes.
"The fact that we're running all of our current [3,800] users off of one
hardware stack was something I thought we could do, but never thought we
would," Moellenhoff adds.
One of the early target areas the ASP identified was improving the lack of
productivity and dollars lost to the usual sales-training rituals for employees.
The solution: creating a simple online interface that mirrored
navigation-friendly e-commerce and portal sites such as Amazon.com and
MyYahoo.
"You don't hear enough about it, but a traditional dirty secret of CRM is it's
expensive to train people. Not only do you have to bring in trainers, but while
[employees are] training, they're not doing their job. They're not selling and
that could be a large cost," Moellenhoff notes.
Moellenhoff, who holds degrees in computer science and electrical engineering
from Washington University in St. Louis, started his career at early CRM
vendor Metropolis Software and as a Java consultant before becoming one of
four co-founders and developers at Salesforce.com.
Working out of a San Francisco apartment atop Coit Tower, Moellenhoff says
the ASP's humble early days were spent designing and lobbying technology
and infrastructure choices that would become the Web site's back end.
"We had these amazing inspirational views of the bay and water scenes all
around us. In the midst of this we were standing around with whiteboards,"
Moellenhoff remarks. "The most important thing to be able to innovate is to
get down to what the core issue is. If you never understood the real meat of
the problem, you end up with a solution you threw away because you
misunderstood what problem you had."
Down the road, Moellenhoff says Salesforce.com wants to expand the utility
model of delivering software, featuring automated updates, upgrades, and
support and bundling value-add services into a subscription price.
"Nobody really wants to own software. It's just a cost. Getting a box with a
CD in it doesn't really solve your business problem."
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Dave Moellenhoff - ASP founder predicts the end of software as we know it
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Mark Lucovsky - The brains behind HailStorm sees Web services as a hub for simplifying busy lives
Back to 2002 Technology Innovators
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Profile |
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| Dave Moellenhoff - Co-founder and CTO of Salesforce.com. This ASP pioneer sees the future in software -- particularly CRM solutions -- as a service. |
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Current position - CTO |
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Age - 32 |
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Technology prediction - "Companies are waking up to the fact that
software ownership has stopped making sense. Instead, organizations
are turning to a shared information utility architecture for software and
getting immediate ROI." |
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Related Links |
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Hall of fame 2002 - Several industry icons join InfoWorld's Innovators Hall of Fame |
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Ones to Watch 2002 - These up-and-comers are developing the technologies that will matter most in the coming months |
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Where are they now? - Since the 2000 Ones to Watch were named, many dot-coms imploded and the economy
soured. How have these technological talents fared? |
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