a16z Podcast

a16z Podcast: Where the Growth in Cloud and Enterprise Software Really Is — A Conversation Between Marc (Benioff) and Marc (Andreessen)

Marc Andreessen and Marc Benioff

Posted December 5, 2014

 

How crazy did the world think Marc Benioff was when he launched Salesforce — in 1999! — with a rallying cry of “No software”? (VCs wouldn’t fund it when he started, Benioff says, arguing “that obviously won’t work”). With the cloud a growing part of practically every company, government, organization, and people’s lives, that vision is not so crazy today.

But what’s next? Do enterprise CEOs get (mobile) religion? [Answer: not yet. Benioff thinks there’s a ton of opportunity ahead there.] What’s happening with international growth, when countries want their own clouds and 90% of enterprise software is bought in just 7 countries — is that going to change?

Listen to this a16z Tech Summit conversation between the two Marcs — Marc Benioff and Marc Andreessen — in a conversation that covers the past, present, and future of the cloud as well as philanthropy and more.