Application service provider Salesforce.com Inc said Monday that it has closed a round of funding worth $17m and appointed John Dillon as president and CEO. Dillon formerly served as CEO of analytical application firm Hyperion Solutions Inc but was removed in May after the company posted a string of poor quarterly results.
Founded last March by former Oracle executive Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com’s first service is an internet-based sales force automation offering. Contributors to the round of funding included Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, CNet CEO Halsey Minor, and WR Hambrecht & Co chairman William Hambrecht. Ellison and Minor will join Dillon and Benioff, as well as Magdalena Yesil, partner at US Venture Partners, on the company’s board of directors.
Separately, the San Francisco-based company said it has launched the initial pilot program of its service with more than 30 customers and 400 users. Excite@Home Inc, Hoover’s Inc and Blue Martini Software Inc are among the companies that have joined the program. The service is designed to manage sales force contacts, accounts, opportunities, forecasts and reports in real time over the internet.
