Google and Salesforce have expanded their partnership to make it even easier for developers to harness the power of Cloud Computing concepts - this allows applications to be produced with the minimum of effort that are accessible from any computer with a browser.

Salesforce have provided a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) toolkit that links existing applications directly to the Google API, allowing developers to integrate their applications seamlessly with existing Google services. 

This partnership is seen as part of a new trend in in the way we use computers and could further challenge the dominance of big players like Microsoft.

By combining business-applications, email and crm solutions into a cohesive set of web-services, the Google and Salesforce partnership lets businesses operate entirely from the Internet.

This removes dependency on two traditional components - the underlying operating-system Microsoft Windows, for example) and the need to install applications locally (Microsoft Office, for example). By removing these dependencies businesses will be free to adopt different operating-systems (Linux or Mac, for example) without fear of disruption to the way they operate.

Moving towards Cloud Computing will also affect the way software is bought and deployed; rather than floowing complex licensing models and requiring expensive infrastructure, payments are likely to move towards a 'pay-as-you-go' model, known as Utility Computing.

This will allow new and startup businesses to access enterprise-level software with minimum overheads, as well as offering significant savings to medium and large organisations by reducing the technology infrastructure necessary to support their business.