Ever since database marketing awakened businesses to the possibilities of customer relationship management (CRM), marketing professionals have been obsessed with discovering the ultimate "killer app." However, the pursuit of end-to-end marketing automation has strained even large corporate budgets, and upgrading to the latest enterprise software from IBM or Microsoft is cost prohibitive--and filled with IT pitfalls--for smaller firms.

To skirt such obstacles, a growing number of companies have turned to applications from Salesforce.com. A leader in on-demand business services, Salesforce enables firms to use Internet-based applications to manage their marketing, sales, and CRM campaigns. With over 300 Web-based applications to choose from, business professionals simply select the program that best fits their sales, support, and marketing information needs. Subscribers pay only a fraction of the cost of traditional enterprise applications.

Already a major spoiler to the software industry, Salesforce is about to shake up the advertising world. In fall 2006, CEO Marc Benioff announced a new partnership with Google formed to create and distribute online ad management software. The jointly marketed service, called Salesforce for Google AdWords, will combine Salesforce's easy-to-use interface with Google's powerful advertising engine.

Firms making the jump to online apps are ecstatic about the new business tools from Salesforce.com. Software businesses, however, are worried. Benioff has publicly declared that he aims to demolish the $15 billion traditional database market, and even towering tech gurus like Bill Gates say the software-as-a-service movement represents a sea change for the global computer industry. But for Benioff, a former Oracle employee, there's little to worry about. The confident Salesforce chief relishes the idea that his company could be the vanguard in computing's newest revolution.