That attire should be fetching when SAP steps onto the on-demand dance floor, according to some of SAP's midmarket partners, who said they would welcome a software-as-service version of CRM.

"The infrastructure is complicated for mySAP CRM, with a separate CRM server, development box and production environment. That can be a problem for smaller companies," said Philippe De Smedt, vice president of Ki Solutions, Irvine, Calif. "In the past, many would buy Salesforce and keep CRM separate from SAP, knowing the sacrifices of not connecting to the back office. SAP already has CRM sales methodologies, and it already created processes that bridge between CRM and ERP. I would expect those to be available on demand as well."

Said Niesman, president and CEO of iTelligence, said an on-demand SAP CRM offering would help the Cincinnati-based solution provider in the midmarket. "In my experience, customers start off interested in ERP and then, as phase two, look for either customer relationship management or supply chain management," Niesman said. "I think on-demand is an attractive alternative with real business value for our midmarket customers."

For its part, Salesforce questions whether SAP can transition its business model to software-as-a-service for CRM. "They have a licensing model where they expect companies to pay up front. You can't take that revenue stream and collapse it overnight into recurring revenue," said Phill Robinson, Salesforce's senior vice president of marketing. "I don't see SAP being any more successful making that adjustment than Siebel has been."

Last week, Salesforce said Accenture will become a reseller partner, working with Salesforce's direct-sales organization. "That Accenture announcement is something we'll be watching carefully," Wettemann said. "It could bring a lot of value-added coaching and contextual stuff. Or it could mean adding cost to the deployment, taking away the cost advantage of CRM on demand."

Separately, Salesforce quietly announced that Pat Sueltz, president of marketing for technology and systems, has left the company. Bruce Culburt, who was brought in to build a partner network, left "some time ago," according to Robinson. Bobby Napiltonia, formerly of BEA Systems, has been brought it as senior vice president of worldwide channels and alliances. In its most recent quarterly filing, Salesforce said it intends to beef up its direct-sales organization.

And the company may need to, if Wettemann's findings continue to bear out. "We've found that a lot of customers that adopted Salesforce early on are looking to leave it," she said. "There are a number of alternatives to it now."