Hosted im suite

Amazon Web Services is launching a program to entice start-up developers with money to build applications that use Amazon's utility computing services. A small company could even get seed money out of the deal. A subsidiary of online retail giant Amazon.com, Amazon Web Services is a suite of services that let developers access hosted computing, storage, payment and other services and pay for them on a per-usage basis. Company executives, including CEO Jeff Bezos, have singled out its Web services business as a potential area of future revenue growth and a way to expand into new customers. ***

WebEx on Monday released a hosted email product aimed at small businesses to complement its WebEx WebOffice suite. Called WebEx Mail, the offering is designed to be a more professional and reliable alternative to ISP mail and simpler than Microsoft's Exchange, according to company executives. Features include the ability to set up group emails through a central administration program and search emails as well as attachments. It can be accessed via a browser, mobile client or Microsoft's Outlook. The mail service is integrated with the other components of WebEx WebOffice, which include Web conferencing, group calendar, and basic document management. Rather than rely on ads to fund the service, WebEx will charge $5.95 per mailbox per month, the company said. ***

Forget ROI. Success at NetSuite may now be measured in bases on balls. NetSuite, a software company backed by Larry Ellison, has named Oakland Athletics' General Manager and Moneyball hero Billy Beane to its board of directors. Beane gained a reputation in baseball by building a team on a budget by using statistical analysis, as opposed to "gut instinct" and other, more traditional methods, in evaluating players and making trades. The technique allowed the team to snap up what he felt were undervalued players for comparatively little money. His methods were described in the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. NetSuite makes hosted customer relationship management applications, competing with CRM companies including Salesforce.com. The A's use the software in sales and marketing, Beane said in a release. ***