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NetScreen Technologies Selects Salesforce.com Over CRM Software For On-Demand Customer Relationship Management

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - May 7, 2003 - Salesforce.com®, the technology and market leader in on-demand customer relationship management (CRM), today announced that NetScreen Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSCN), a leading developer of ASIC-based Internet security systems and appliances, has standardized its sales operations on salesforce.com. Selecting salesforce.com over client/server CRM software solutions, NetScreen has successfully improved sales productivity, efficiency and collaboration by providing nearly 200 global users with single-point access to comprehensive customer information via desktop or laptop, and wireless connectivity via BlackBerry® handhelds from Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM). Management is also using the powerful, flexible application to effectively manage sales processes and forecasting and to evolve the sales organization to further NetScreen's success.

"We found client/server CRM solutions to have high implementation and maintenance costs, low usability and significant synchronization issues with mobile users," said Mark Smith, vice president of sales at NetScreen. "Salesforce.com's utility model delivers the functionality and accessibility we need without the ineffectiveness of conventional software. Salesforce.com with BlackBerry handhelds allows us to easily manage our business from any location in real time, making us a more successful sales organization."

Prior to salesforce.com, NetScreen was using Goldmine software for contact management. The system did not enable easy collaboration and lacked capabilities such as forecasting, pipeline management and off-network access for traveling sales. Turning to salesforce.com for full-featured CRM on-demand, NetScreen quickly deployed Enterprise Edition across 32 international offices, as well as to a third party call center, without IT headaches or hidden consulting costs. Traveling sales professionals with BlackBerry handhelds were given access to salesforce.com Airforce Wireless Edition, eliminating the need to synchronize back at the office and ensuring data integrity. Included with Enterprise Edition free of charge, Wireless Edition has allowed NetScreen to utilize rep "down time" effectively and to maximize its existing wireless device investment.

NetScreen's immediate benefits from its salesforce.com deployment include productivity increases, enhanced real-time collaboration, and improved pipeline accuracy. Managers can now more effectively manage sales processes and forecasting, maintain real-time visibility into the activities of traveling reps and identify sales trends proactively. With end-to-end transparency into the sales process, including leads generated by an outsourced call center, NetScreen has been able to drive up close rates and shorten the sales cycle, improving its track record of sales success.

"Unlike CRM software, salesforce.com's utility model delivers all the functionality a mobile sales organization needs with none of the headaches," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com. "We provide our applications on-demand to desktop, laptop and handheld - whatever makes the most sense for our customers and their success. This is not only a profitable way to do business, it is the one that makes the most sense."

Salesforce.com Airforce Wireless Edition allows sales teams to access and edit real-time, up-to-the-minute customer information in salesforce.com via their wireless devices, including personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile email devices. Leveraging natural interaction-based mobile middleware from Dejima, Inc., the wireless application links users directly to the live salesforce.com CRM system, so there's no need for a local database and no synchronization hassles or data conflicts. Users are able to retrieve and update account, contact, and opportunity information, along with events and tasks, directly from salesforce.com using their handheld devices. During the first quarter of its availability, salesforce.com's Wireless Edition achieved record-breaking customer adoption, with over 300 companies signing up for the service.

"BlackBerry is popular with sales professionals because it provides easy, reliable and secure access to the information and people that drive their day," said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Brand Management at Research In Motion. "With salesforce.com's Wireless Edition and BlackBerry, NetScreen's sales team is able to quickly access, input and react to important customer information on the go, enabling them to increase productivity and enhance client service."

A recent survey found that 42 percent of all enterprise CRM software licenses purchased are never deployed (Gartner Group, March 2003). In contrast, salesforce.com's utility model delivers robust CRM technology on a pay-as-you-go basis for immediate success. The world's most successful application utility, salesforce.com currently has over 6,400 customers and 87,000 users worldwide, including global leaders such as AOL, Le Meridien and Quantum.