InfoWorld Replaces IBM Lotus Notes with Salesforce.com

Business Wire, Dec 10, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2002

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Salesforce.com, the market leader in online customer relationship management (CRM), today announced that InfoWorld Media Group, the provider of in-depth analysis of enterprise technology and strategies through its integrated online, print, research and events channels, has replaced its proprietary IBM Lotus Notes-based CRM system with salesforce.com Enterprise Edition. InfoWorld selected the salesforce.com online service over competing packaged software and its internally-built system, citing salesforce.com's low total cost, extensive out-of-the box functionality, user friendly Web interface and XML APIs that allow almost unlimited integration with InfoWorld's other systems.

InfoWorld CTO Chad Dickerson details his decision process and the winning advantages of "software as service" in the November 15, 2002 issue of InfoWorld magazine, available online at http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/11/18 /021118opconnection.xml. (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field.)

"As a CTO, I want maximum flexibility, minimum cost, an elegant and open system -- without the costs of in-house staffing, hardware and software," Dickerson states. "Salesforce.com delivers all of the classic advantages of outsourcing, along with a Web services API that allows us to do almost anything we want on the development side to extend the system to access and align customer data to our own business processes."

Salesforce.com provides InfoWorld with integrated sales, marketing and customer service functionality that can be accessed anytime through any Web-enabled device. It also provides InfoWorld with a Web services interface that opens the CRM application to other back-end systems, enabling functionality that was not possible with InfoWorld's legacy home-grown system such as the automatic e-mailing of custom reports at irregular intervals. InfoWorld estimates that salesforce.com provides 90% of the functionality needed, a greater percentage than delivered by a conventional packaged solution, with none of the resource drain of built or bought software.

"InfoWorld has probably tested and reviewed every CRM solution on the market, including betas of those not even available yet," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com. "The fact that they have chose to manage their vital customer data with the low-cost, low-risk, easy-to-use salesforce.com solution is indicative of the success of the `software as service' revolution and our leadership position in it."

A growing list of companies has switched to salesforce.com because of frustration with high costs, complex products and lengthy or unsuccessful implementations of client/server software. Salesforce.com has currently achieved more than 5,200 customers for its online CRM solution, including global leaders such as Le Meridien, Autodesk and USA Today. Salesforce.com delivers its CRM solution as an online information utility via a Web Services infrastructure. In the past year, salesforce.com has added more CRM customers than Siebel (Nasdaq:SEBL), PeopleSoft (Nasdaq:PSFT), Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) and SAP (NYSE:SAP) combined.

About salesforce.com

Salesforce.com builds and delivers customer relationship management (CRM) applications as scalable online services. The salesforce.com product suite -- Team Edition, Professional Edition, Enterprise Edition and Offline Edition -- gives companies of all sizes a complete 360-degree view of the customer. The company's award-winning CRM solutions provide integrated online sales force automation, customer service and support management, and marketing automation applications to help companies meet the complex challenges of global customer communication. Salesforce.com has received considerable recognition in the industry, including two Five-Star ratings from PC Magazine, two Deploy Awards from InfoWorld, Red Herring 100, Upside Hot 100, Investor's Choice Award from Enterprise Outlook, Editor's Choice from TMCLabs, Top 10 CRM Implementation from Aberdeen Group and InfoWorld's 2001 CRM Technology of the Year. Founded in 1999, salesforce.com is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia. Salesforce.com customers include Autodesk, Arvato Services, Dow Jones Newswires, Ericsson Microelectronics, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Kikkoman Corporation, Le Meridien, Paymentech, PMI Mortgage Insurance, Putnam Lovell NBF, Siemens PT&D, Suntory Foods, Textron Fastening Systems, USA Today and Wachovia.

About IDG's InfoWorld Media Group

InfoWorld Media Group delivers in-depth analysis of enterprise technology and strategies combined to deliver insight into vital business solutions through its integrated online, print, research and events channels. In an era when technology is more critical to business success than ever before, InfoWorld Media Group provides senior IT level expertise for executives such as CTOs and CIOs on how technology drives specific business benefits such as revenue growth, relationship management, and enhancing organizational efficiencies.