Googlicious

As a technologist of over 15 years, I've seen companies come and go. I've always been a fan of Microsoft - while they never seemed to have an original idea, they tend to do a great job of improving on other's ideas. But I have to say that I'm just blown away by the machine that is Google. These guys get it - flat out. Not only do they own SEARCH, but they are going to own the 'Software as a Service' space too. And they seem to be making all the right friends:

From News.com

File this one under the heading of "after-the-fact" ruminations. But a recent
report in The Wall Street Journal that Google and Salesforce.com were talking
about ways to collaborate particularly piqued my interest. This potential
partnership makes sense in so many ways--not the least being that it would drive
Steve Ballmer to pull out what's left of his hair.

Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer(Credit: CNET News.com)
Would Google actually buy Salesforce? I'm sure
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff would sell at the right price, and Google obviously
has money to spend. But these two don't have to head to the altar right away
because they can still realize their common objective of driving Microsoft
batty.
Why wouldn't Benioff want to team up with Google? It's only a matter
of time before Microsoft begins to compete more directly against Salesforce, and
a well-heeled ally would come in handy.
The only surprise for me is that
it's taken this long for Google and Salesforce to get serious about hammering
out a pact. Google Apps--which include several Web-based apps--don't at all
overlap with Salesforce.com customer-relationship management offerings. What
with Google also trying to push a paid version of Google Apps for business
users, the argument for a stronger alliance with Salesforce becomes a slam dunk.

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Wow! Microsoft just keeps getting one-uped by the boys at Google.