Partners to Partnerforce

In more salesforce.com-related news, the customer relationship management tool provider reminds of the imminent launch of Partnerforce, a service intended to assist companies in better interacting with business partners. The Partnerforce program is promised to allow employees share data with sales staff internal and external to their firm. The on-demand data service is touted as using an interface similar to that of Salesforce CRM software. Naturally, too, salesforce.com PR reminds of the seventy-seven percent growth rate Gartner recorded the firm at last year.

With Partnerforce, either partner or parent company URLs can theoretically become a portal for the service. This portal can then be customized to a given web interface. A chart dashboard provides a changing view of relevant sales partner activities, and there are security controls to restrict outside access to internal company data. The advantage of Partnerforce, says promotional material, is its portals, which no competing on-demand PRM provider offers.

The disadvantage is that those already using the salesforce.com CRM system must access a separate portal for each company that enrolls them in the PRM program. Partnerforce will be available at US $1,500 per partner per year, including five users. And the licenses for PRM may also be pooled, explained a salesforce spokesperson said, meaning ten partners require ten licenses, but fifty resultant users may be distributed however the parent company chooses.