There's something puzzling going on in the computer industry. Sales of many products for businesses are plummeting, while other categories are doing quite well. Makers of powerful server computers, for instance, have seen quarterly sales drops of 20% or more. In contrast, Salesforce.com, which sells customer-management software as a service delivered over the Internet, saw revenues grow 34% last quarter, to $290 million.rnThe main reason for the disparity: Salesforce.com typically receives monthly checks from its customers. Companies don't have to rack up capital expenses or borrow money from tightfisted lenders to pay for computers and software. "Traditional hard-rnware and software purchases are made through capital expenditures. That's an incredibly difficult thing to do in the current environment," says Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's CEO. He says we're moving into "a zero-capex world." Avon Products recently opted to use Salesforce.com's service to track 75,000 salespeople.
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