And the winner of the Steppin’ Out award is…

…Salesforce.com!

Probably the prize with the coolest name, the Steppin’ Out Awards are presented by internationally acknowledged “CRM guru” Paul Greenberg and usually quickly reported on by industry writers who obligatorily mention the 1980s pop hit. (The You Tubeheads out there even link you to the video.)

Salesforce.com took the prize this year over Microsoft, Neighborhood America, NetSuite, Microsoft, Rearden Commerce and Zoho “not only because they are able to dominate a market, but can create markets at extraordinary speed.”

The Steppin’ Out Award is given for “the combination of excellent customer engagement and experiences with market impact that goes beyond any single customer. In order to win the award, the victor has to show not only an ability to make an impact, but to sustain the impact through the years.”