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Interface
Getting tasks routed to the right worker

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Chief Executive Paul "P.J." Johnston said Entellium saves because it develops its software at less cost in Asia, where it has 48 of its 60 employees.

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Two primary offices: Seattle and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Who: Chief Executive Paul "P.J." Johnston.

What it does: Provides customer-relationship-management software (CRM) delivered over the Internet through a subscription, similar to San Francisco-based Salesforce.com, which recently raised $110 million in an initial public offering.

How it compares: While Salesforce.com's product is closer to traditional CRM, Johnston said Entellium approaches the market from a fresher perspective and its product is cheaper.

Sales pitch, Part 1: Workflow component. Entellium's software ensures sales leads and customer problems get routed to the correct person. If a worker is busy, the lead flows to another staff member automatically. Salesforce.com also has built-in automation and alerts.

Sales pitch, Part 2: Three modules. The software is divided into marketing, sales and service components. If a company wants only one, it pays for only one. That compares to the more typical one-size-fits-all approach, which Johnston likened to buying Microsoft Word when you only have to write a letter.
 

Sales pitch, Part 3: Cost. Entellium charges $9.95 to $59 a month per user, depending on how many modules are purchased, Johnston said. Salesforce.com ranges from $65 to $125 a month per user. It also offers a discounted package for five users that works out to $16.59 a month, the company's Web site says.

Behind the savings: Entellium saves because it develops its software at less cost in Asia, where it has 48 of its 60 employees. The company also uses an indirect sales channel that receives a cut of revenue, saving the cost of having a direct-sales team.

Against the current: Entellium is not an outsourcer. It has development offices in Asia because Johnston, who is British, founded the company in Malaysia four years ago, moving to the U.S. in early 2003. Rather than outsourcing work to Asia, he calls the U.S. office "insourcing."

Market dynamics: He said he moved the company here because the expense of high-speed Internet access in Asia made software delivered over the Internet impractical. He also said it was difficult to persuade customers in Asia to store data on someone else's servers, as required in the Web-based model.

Customers: Entellium accumulated most of its 3,500 customers before it moved to Seattle.

Funding: Raised $2 million in venture capital from Bellevue-based Ignition Partners.

Fighting the beast: The challenge is stealing attention from Saleforce.com. Johnston said it's frustrating at times, but that Salesforce.com helps indirectly by educating the market. "I consider 10 percent of their [marketing] budget ours," he said.

— Tricia Duryee