Post authored by Marc Duncan of the NetDocuments Sales Team

Wow, what a week and what a show. I have just returned from the Dreamoforce 09 show in San Francisco and had an amazing experience. As a member of the NetDocuments sales team I spend a lot of time "selling" the idea of SaaS, cloud computing, etc. During this day to day routine, it is easy to wonder: is this idea really catching on? On Wednesday morning during the keynote address I was assured that yes…SaaS and Cloud computing are here to stay.

I was in the main exhibition hall surrounded by thousands of other enthusiast like myself waiting to hear from Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com. The excitement and energy in the room was unprecedented. Not only has the idea of SaaS caught on, but people are excited about the potential that SaaS and cloud computing bring to every company in every market.

One thing that really struck me was the progressive thinking of Salesforce.com. They already consider SaaS and cloud computing the great idea of the "90's & 2000's." And they are now looking forward to the next decade and developing ways to integrate social networking into the daily workings of the business enterprise. My eyes were opened when Marc Benioff said, "I know more about strangers then I do my own company." Why is it that we all know everything about our friends and very little about our co-workers? How can we know what everybody thinks of the latest movie, but have no idea what our associates think of the latest proposal? The reason is that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have passed the business world when it comes to efficiency and real-time knowledge. The answer? I believe the next decade will ultimately decide, but Salesforce took a huge step forward by introducing "Chatter."

Chatter is the "Facebook for the enterprise" and allows users of Salesforce to post status updates, look at real time Twitter feeds, etc. Just imagine if you could know the daily buzz of your company just like you do your inner circle of friends? Imagine status postings like, "just had a great meeting with my number one client," or "looking for ways to close this deal and need ideas." By integrating the efficiency and intuitiveness of social networking into the technology that runs our businesses the possibilities are endless.

Cloud computing and SaaS are here to stay. My advice: Commit to this type of technology so that you can begin to take advantage of the new and limitless possibilities it brings.