Rubric joins other marketing software companies taking a similar tack. Magnifi Inc. introduced Magnifi.Net, an extranet service also hosted by Exodus, in May, and Annuncio Software Inc. offers a hosting option to businesses that want it.

Application hosting is starting to appeal to all types of enterprise application customers, but the model is particularly attractive to marketing departments and agencies, which often don't have IT resources in-house to support enterprise apps. And while marketing units don't have budgets for big implementations, many are able to take a few thousand dollars from an expense budget each month. "They get scared off by large investments, and apps hosting is a predictable monthly expense," says Donovan Gow, an analyst at the Aberdeen Group.

Sybase Inc. has been testing the E-Marketing service for Rubric EMA, and it says the service has increased response to a seminar marketing campaign by as much as five times. Deborah Harrington, Sybase's director of marketing for business intelligence, says hosting removes some of the administrative burden of the application. Still, keeping the application in-house has its advantages. "I like the freedom to design the campaigns myself," Harrington says.

Rubric is offering two hosted plans. One lets businesses license Rubric EMA on a monthly basis from a Rubric server in Exodus' data center. Exodus handles connectivity, management, maintenance, and security, and users access the application with a browser. For the second service, aimed at midsize businesses, Breakaway not only hosts the software but handles tasks such as configuring EMA and planning and executing marketing campaigns.