Salesforce announced AppStore yesterday, which takes the AppExchange one step closer to being an "eBay for Business Applications".

AppStore will allow Salesforce customers to pay for their add-on applications, such as Email marketing and Sales Analytics services, through a single payment mechanism hosted by Salesforce. Salesforce will handle all billing and collection for a percentage of the add-on applications licensing fees.

I had a great conversation with David Brooks at Dreamforce 2005 (and later at a roadshow event in Seattle) about this very topic, and this announcement shows that Salesforce is really listening to their customers and partners alike. It's great to see David and Salesforce remain passionate about AppExchange and follow through on new features and services.

Also announced were some Marketing services to help better position and promote applications on the AppExchange.