SALESLOGIX CORP. (www.saleslogix.com, www.interact.com).

This summer, SalesLogix Corp. rolled out a new subscription-based version of its flagship product, a salesforce automation system that costs customers $595-$2,000 per desktop for the original licensed version. Pricing for the new monthly subscription service works out to about $150 per desktop, says marketing vice president Phil Myers, but the subscription option also includes support services that license customers usually provide in-house. "We're pretty even-handed in our approach," says Myers.

So far, he adds, SalesLogix customers have been "slow to adopt" the new model, largely because of security concerns. "However, over time the cost savings and timeliness will make the ASP solution more attractive. It's an evolutionary process, not dissimilar from asking people to trust their credit cards on the Internet."

Marketing tactics: In addition to migrating its traditional customers to an ASP delivery model, SalesLogix plans to focus its marketing efforts on users who are comfortable with off-the-shelf solutions. SalesLogix recently acquired the rights to Act!, a sales contact manager that SalesLogix founder Pat Sullivan originally developed and sold to Symantec in 1993. Myers says Act! will become part of a $19.95 monthly subscription service based on a new portal site, www.interact.com, that he calls "AOL for salespeople--a big old network of things that help you sell better."

Development issues: "We spent considerable time refining a fixed configuration that best matched customer needs and was economical to support, at a price point that was easy to justify," says Myers. "The hardest part," he adds, "was containing infrastructure costs." SalesLogix uses IBM Global Services to provide remote hosting and related support; Myers says that infrastructure costs and related services typically cost SalesLogix "about half" of the $150/month subscription fee it charges.

Forecast: "We're big believers that software is going to migrate quickly to a subscription model," says Myers. In about two years, he predicts, "80% of our business will be with customers on a subscription basis, and 25% will be hosted remotely."

Phil Myers, vice president of marketing, SalesLogix, 8800 N. Gainey Center Dr., Scottsdale, Ariz. 85258; 480/368-3866. E-mail: pmyers@saleslogix.com.