CeBIT 2013: Software Pioneer salesforce.com Wins Leader in the Digital Age Award 2013

SAN FRANCISCO and HANOVER, Germany, February 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The software company which almost single-handedly changed the rules of the game in a billion dollar-plus market is the winner of the Leader in the Digital Age Award in 2013 in the category "Pioneers": salesforce.com. The leading vendor of cloud-based enterprise software has impressed the jury of the Leader in the Digital Age Award (LIDA) not only because of its disruptive product portfolio but also because it is an organization that embraces change, openness and agility as values that drive the business.

Since Marc Benioff founded the company in 1999, salesforce.com has focused entirely on providing enterprise software over the internet. Benioff was one of the first to recognize the potential of Cloud Computing to enable customers to engage on a faster, more innovative and more scalable basis than possible with traditional enterprise software. Since salesforce.com started to offer solutions like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as a cloud service, it has become common practice to procure even complex business software solutions via the Cloud. And the benefits are clear - the Cloud enables simplified customization, higher scalability and shorter time-to-market. As a vendor of Cloud-based enterprise software with an annual revenue of three billion dollars and more than 100.000 customers, salesforce.com is one of the fastest growing software companies in the world and has shaken up large parts of the traditional software industry. Twice in a row Forbes magazine has named salesforce.com the most innovative company in the world.

"Salesforce.com is growing constantly and is the best possible proof of the triumph of cloud computing," says Thomas Spreitzer, member of the jury of the LIDA Award and CMO of T-Systems International. "If you want to get anywhere in your business, no matter whether it's in marketing, sales, HR or finance, you can't wait 2 years for the next IT development to come along. The cloud is therefore a central element which allows companies to become quicker and more flexible."

Besides the fact that salesforce.com has transformed the entire business software sector, the innovation and speed of the company is remarkable as well. Salesforce.com is no longer only a player in the field of CRM-software. With social and mobile Cloud-applications for monitoring and marketing in social channels (Marketing Cloud), a fully integrated enterprise social network (Chatter) and a complete platform for building applications to manage any business process  (Salesforce platform), salesforce.com now enables customers to connect more deeply with the customer, partners, employees and even products. On the inside, salesforce.com is not a traditionally organized company either: Flexible structures, an agile approach for projects, playful networking interaction to share knowledge and to react swiftly are the characteristics of the company which now employs approximately 10,000 people.

"The leader in the digital age award is an acknowledgement of the pioneering spirit and innovative culture at salesforce.com as well as the success of our customers," said salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff. "The technology industry is in the midst of a massive transition, and the social and mobile revolutions taking place today are providing an incredible opportunity for companies to connect with their customer, partners and employees in entirely new ways. We are proud that we are again pioneering and advancing this fundamental business transformation."

The LIDA Award in the "Pioneers" category and the other prizes in the categories "Managers", "Non-profit" and "Entertainment" are to be presented at the award-giving ceremony at the CeBIT on March 6^th, 2013. For more details please go to: http://www.lidaaward.com

The Leader in the Digital Age Award (LIDA Award):

The LIDA Award is presented on behalf of the Ministry of Economics, Labour and Transport of Niedersachsen. The aim of the award is to draw attention to future-proof management models promoting the principles of the digital age - openness, transparency and agility - and the people who develop them. The prize, which has been awarded since 2011, developed from cooperation between the Ministry of Economics of Niedersachsen and more than 20 well-known German companies under the leadership of Dr. Willms Buhse, expert for networked cooperation and founder of the management consultancy doubleYUU. The 2013 jury chaired by the Minister of Economics, Labor and Transport of Niedersachsen included the following people: Dr. Wolfram von Fritsch, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Messe AG, Prof. Dr. Carsten Winter, Department of Journalism and Communication Research (IJK) at Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH), Thomas Spreitzer, CMO T-Systems International, Maria Gomez, Director Collaboration Solutions, IBM Germany, Herbert K. Haas, CEO Talanx AG, Cordelia Krooß, Senior Community Manager BASF and LIDA award-winner in the "Newcomers" category 2012 and Dr. Willms Buhse.

http://www.lidaaward.com

Please contact:
LIDA Award / doubleYUU
Anja Hahn
T: +49(0)40-33429594
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SOURCE doubleYUU GmbH & Co. KG