NetSuite signs Billy Beane

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.

Billy Beane

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.

"Billy's outrageously successful approach in changing the game of baseball by managing using facts to supplement instinct is very similar to the transformation our customers undergo when they move their business to NetSuite," NetSuite co-founder Evan Goldberg said in a release.

As a countermove, perhaps Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff will begin talks to sign legendary baseball stats guru Bill James?