Salesforce.com Positioned as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers

SAN FRANCISCO, May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/) company, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers, 2011.

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According to Gartner, "Leaders demonstrate market-defining vision and the ability to execute against that vision through products, services, demonstrable sales figures, and solid new references for multiple geographies and vertical industries. Clients report that the vendors deliver a high level of value and return on their commitment. The development team has a clear vision of the implications of business rules, and the impact of social networking on customer service requirements. A characteristic of a leader is that clients look to the vendor for clues as to how to innovate in customer service. The vendor does not necessarily drive a customer toward vendor lock-in, but rather provides openness to an ecosystem. When asked, their clients reply that this product has affected the organizations' competitive position in their markets and helped lower costs.  Leaders can demonstrate $50 million in sales to new customers during the past year."

The Service Cloud: Delivering Customer Success in the Social, Mobile, and Open Era

• More than 15,000 customers including Ally Bank, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Nikon Instruments have deployed the Service Cloud to deliver customer service in the era of Cloud 2, the next generation of computing that is social, mobile, and open.  
• According to a recent third party survey sponsored by salesforce.com, companies who have deployed the Service Cloud have seen a 41% increase in agent productivity, a 34% increase in first call resolution, a 35% increase in customer satisfaction, and 85% indicated they offered improved customer service and support.(1)
• Service Cloud customer Shavlik Technologies was recently named a winner of the 2011 CRM Service Elite Award by CRM Magazine, and Service Cloud was recently named the winner of the 2011 Stevie Award for Contact Center Solution – New Version.

Salesforce.com Continues to Define the Leading Edge of Social Capabilities in CRM Contact Center Solutions

• Salesforce.com recently completed the acquisition of Radian6, the industry's leading social-media monitoring platform, used by more than half of FORTUNE 100 companies to monitor, analyze and engage in social media conversations.
• Radian6 and salesforce.com innovations will bring social intelligence to Salesforce CRM, enhancing all Salesforce products and helping companies to better market and sell to prospects, serve customers and understand what's being said about their brands, products and competitors.
• According to the report, "By 2013, at least 50% of customer service centers will integrate some form of community/social capabilities as a part of the CRM contact center solution."

Comments on the News

• "We believe salesforce.com's Magic Quadrant position reinforces our industry leadership and continued innovation," said Alex Dayon, executive vice president of CRM, salesforce.com. "With the acquisition of Radian6, salesforce.com will be able to deliver unmatched product innovation that seamlessly integrates the public social Web with Salesforce CRM."

About the Magic Quadrant:

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. 

Additional Resources:

• For access to a complimentary copy of the Magic Quadrant, please visit: https://www.salesforce.com/form/pdf/svc_gartner_magicquadrant.jsp
• To see the recorded live demo of Service Cloud 3 with Twitter, Facebook, and Apple FaceTime at Cloudforce New York on March 3, 2011, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBOzPnyVzs
• For more information about the Service Cloud, visit: http://www.salesforce.com/crm/customer-service-support/
• For more information about Radian6, visit: www.radian6.com
• Follow @salesforce on Twitter

About Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company that has transformed the way companies collaborate and communicate. Salesforce.com is leading the effort to bring Cloud 2, the next paradigm for computing, to the enterprise by offering its customers the social collaboration, mobility and openness that are the hallmark of this new world. The company's platform and application services include:

• Salesforce Chatter, a private social network for your enterprise
• The Sales Cloud, for sales force automation and contact management
• The Service Cloud, for customer service and support solutions
• Radian6, for social media monitoring and engagement
• The Jigsaw Data Cloud, for ensuring data integrity and quality
• The Force.com platform, for custom application development
• Heroku, for building social and mobile apps in Ruby
• The AppExchange, the world's leading marketplace for enterprise cloud computing applications

Salesforce.com offers the fastest path to customer success with cloud computing. As of January 31, 2011, salesforce.com manages customer information for approximately 92,300 customers including Allianz Commercial, Dell, 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://salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

Copyright (c) 2011 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.

(1) Voice of the Customer Survey, 6,293 respondents, sponsored by salesforce.com and conducted by independent third-party MarketTools, Inc.

SOURCE salesforce.com