---
title: "Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff: Microsoft being out hustled"
date: 2006-07-11
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2006"
    url: "/tag/2006.md"
---

# Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff: Microsoft being out hustled

![salesforce](https://web.archive.org/web/20110904050549im_/http://rww.readwriteweb.netdna-cdn.com/images/salesforce.gif)Today Microsoft [re-announced](https://web.archive.org/web/20110904050549/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jul06/07-11CRMLivePR.mspx) their on-demand CRM solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM – including a new software-as-a-service offering called Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live. According to [ salesforce.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20110904050549/http://www.salesforce.com/) CEO Marc Benioff, once again Redmond is reacting to the success of service-based companies like salesforce.com and Google.

In [an internal email](https://web.archive.org/web/20110904050549/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=231), Benioff riffs on the state of the online business industry – paying particular attention to Microsoft’s position in it. He outlines a theory he calls “The Business Web” and explains why his company salesforce.com, rather than Microsoft, is in the driving seat. In the email, Benioff says: “…the fact is that Microsoft is being out hustled by everyone.”

The full email is re-produced [in my ZDNet blog](https://web.archive.org/web/20110904050549/http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=231).

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/salesforcecom_c.php))*