UPDATE 2-Salesforce.com says pricing could tighten

*CFO says may see "much more aggressive pricing"

*Salesforce can match pricing

*Company will take currency hit in quarter ended Oct. 31 (Adds comments from analysts, updates shares, adds byline)

By Jim Finkle

BOSTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) warned investors it may come under pressure to cut prices on its Web-based software, as rivals increasingly discount their products in a bid to win market share as the economy weakens.

"It wouldn't surprise me if going forward ... we see much more aggressive pricing," said Graham Smith, chief financial officer of Salesforce, which sells computer programs that customers access via the Web to manage sales and marketing activities.

Software giants Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) have beefed up Internet-based offerings that compete with those from Salesforce over the past year.

While speaking in New York on Tuesday, Smith said his company has room to respond as the discounting picks up.

"We are able to match pricing," he said at an investor luncheon that was broadcast over the Internet.

Companies are already planning to cut information technology budgets for next year because the economic crisis is hurting their businesses and they are demanding heavier discounts than normal, according to industry analysts.

"It is going to have an impact pricing," said Rob Bois, an analyst with AMR Research, a technology research firm.

Bois said sales management software will likely take a fall when pricing starts to decline.

"Sales and marketing is one of the first areas where companies look to reduce costs," he said.

San Francisco-based Salesforce is also vulnerable because its software costs about twice what Microsoft charges, Bois said.

Ian Campbell, chief executive of Nucleus Research, a firm that advises companies on how to save money on technology purchases, expects Salesforce will increasingly come under pressure to cut prices.

"This is not primarily because of the economy. I would say it's primarily because of the competitors," he said.  Continued...