Cloud computing poster child Salesforce.com on Thursday expanded its Software as a Service (SaaS) model so customer service agents can tap into collective knowledge on the Internet.
Salesforce has launched Cloud Services, a software suite that customer support folks at businesses can use online to connect with people on Facebook or learn the buzz about their products on Google or in chat rooms.
"When we have a question about our new cell phone or home theatre system, the first thing we do is Google it, and Google is in the cloud," said Salesforce vice president of customer support applications Alex Dayon.
"The bad news is that those conversations are happening outside the framework of the organisations. They are losing touch with the people who are having problems."
Cloud Services essentially enables customer service agents to connect with customers and with sources of technical information, including engineers in their own companies, by using online communities and resources.
Last year was a "tipping point" for customer service, with more than half the queries and talk about problems with products going playing out "in the cloud" at websites such as Facebook, Google and chat groups, Dayon said.
Historically, customer service agents in businesses have not had access to the treasure trove of trouble-shooting insights and feedback bandied about the Internet.
"The customer service and support market is going through a massive transformation," said Dayon, who founded and ran call centre technology firm InStranet which Salesforce bought last year in a 31.5-million-dollar deal.
"We are leading the way in the brave new world of customer interaction." Service Cloud lets businesses create online communities as well as tap into what is being said about their products in existing Internet spheres.
"It's really a completely new way of looking at customer service," Dayon said. "The agents will leverage the Internet community." Founded in 1999 by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, Salesforce is on pace to report more than a billion dollars in revenue in fiscal year 2009.
The trend in cloud computing is expected to be boosted by economic tough times, with businesses finding it cheaper to pay subscriptions to use software instead of buying programmes and installing and maintaining them on machines. Salesforce charges 199 dollars monthly for businesses to use its Cloud Services software bundle.