The PRM application will give Salesforce customers a consolidated view of their indirect and direct sales channels and allow companies to distribute marketing, sales, and product information across its multi-tiered sales pipeline.

Josh Greenbaum, a principle at Enterprise Applications Consulting, said visibility into the indirect channel has always been a challenge for companies.

"There is no better way to get into trouble than by not being able to involve the indirect channel in marketing, branding and new product releases," Greenbaum said.

Additional features in Partnerforce will include an integrated lead management system for distributing leads across all sales channels, a customizable portal for channel partner access, and deal registration and opportunity management services to avoid channel conflict.

The PRM solution also allows companies to entice their channel partners into using Partnerforce by allowing them to build in incentives and market development programs.