Windows 8 is a catalyst or "gambit" for CIOs, forcing them to say "am I going to Windows 8, or am I going to something else," Benioff said during a question-and-answer session at Salesforce.com's Cloudforce event in New York, which was webcast.

Years ago, "a common phrase was, 'the Windows 7 upgrade cycle,'" Benioff added. "You're not going to hear about the Windows 8 upgrade cycle. I'm not saying that as a big, aggressive statement against Microsoft, that's just the reality of today's environment."

Windows has become "irrelevant," being displaced by next-generation LTE wireless networks that will "disintermediate" the need for WANs and LANs, along with "all of these great services that are available right off the cloud."

"Now, we're not completely there," Benioff added. "Everything is not heterogenous client, everything is not LTE, everything is not cloud ... But we're going to this great new place in our industry."

A Microsoft representative declined to comment on Benioff's remarks.