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To: Mike Buckley who wrote (18055)	2/15/2000 8:42:00 PM
From: rel4490	Respond to of 54805

and the following quote: "Ultimately, expect only a handful of players to claim the lion's share of this market. Siebel and Oracle look like big winners. They already have relationships with thousands of large customers and offer a broad array of software packages. "

To: Mike Buckley who wrote (18055)	2/15/2000 9:34:00 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Mike: Siebel's new competitor (Salesforce.com) is one to watch, IMO.... businessweek.com <<SPECIAL REPORT Salesforce.com: An Ant at the Picnic There was a time when Marc K. Benioff could call Thomas M. Siebel and set up lunch. After all, the pair cut their teeth together during the early go-go days at software giant Oracle Corp. These days, though, Siebel won't return Benioff's calls. It may have something to do with the mission of Benioff's San Francisco startup, Salesforce.com Inc., which was officially launched on Feb. 7. ''Our objective is to put Siebel Systems out of business,'' Benioff says flatly. Never mind that Benioff, 35, was an initial backer of Siebel Systems Inc., the king of software for making salespeople more productive, and that he has pocketed more than $20 million from that 1993 investment. He revels in the thought that Salesforce.com can use the Web to undermine the classic business model that generated $790 million in sales for Siebel last year. Benioff, chairman of Salesforce.com, expects the Internet to change the way salespeople track customers. Right now, his Web site does only a fraction of what Siebel's software can do. But in the future, he believes, instead of buying expensive packages of software, even large companies will pay monthly fees to get what they need from Web sites like his. With Salesforce.com, Benioff has made a first stab at fulfilling that vision. It's a handy tool for individual salespeople or small groups. For just $50 a month, users click on tabs to move quickly from their contact list to account information to sales leads. The Web site's simplicity is appealing to customers such as Rob-ert G. Muscat. As head of business development for W.L. Gore & Associates' Industrial Dry Filtration unit, Muscat initially considered Siebel software to link his 15 sales reps. But it would have cost him close to $60,000 to buy and install. ''You're talking some big bucks here,'' Muscat says. At this point, Salesforce.com is nothing more than an ant at Siebel's picnic. With 150 customers to Siebel's 1,000, it can hardly be considered a threat yet. ''Web applications are a compelling story for small startups. But for big companies like General Motors and Microsoft--no way,'' says David Schmaier, Siebel's senior vice-president for products. To be sure, Salesforce.com isn't for big corporate customers that want all of Siebel's market-analysis features. SHARED NICHE. Even for small sales operations, Salesforce.com has its shortcomings. Its greatest advantage --being a Web site--could also be its greatest drawback. For sales reps who travel, finding Web connections can be even more difficult than finding a good cup of coffee. ''It's not an acceptable solution,'' Forrester Research Inc. analyst Bob Chatham says of Salesforce.com. He thinks this technology makes sense mainly for small stationary sales forces. Salesforce.com doesn't have this niche to itself, either. Upshot.com Inc. and SalesLogix Corp. have developed sales-management Web sites. And Siebel is getting into the action too--recently spinning off its Sales.com Web site, which offers some of the features of its core sales-management software. But Salesforce.com's backers don't seem worried. The company is about to close another round of financing that will bring its total funding to $52 million and value it at $350 million. And Benioff expects to go public this year. If that happens, his $20 million Siebel windfall could seem like pocket change. By Jay Greene in San Francisco>> Best Regards, Scott