Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Thomas Ernst with Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead with your question.
Thomas Ernst - Deutsche Bank
Good afternoon gentlemen, thanks for taking our questions.
Steven Singh
Hey Tom.
Thomas Ernst - Deutsche Bank
Last call you talked about the growth profile for 2009 as being somewhat back-end loaded due to the nature of some of your deferred bookings. Do you still see that back end loaded deferred growth profile with some of your previous bookings or is some of that changed because of the macro conditions?
Steven Singh
Sure, let me take a stab at that question Tom. The nature of our revenue growth is very much driven by deployment of new customers or deployment of new services at existing customers, and as we’ve always said, it averages roughly six months to deploy a new customer.
Sometimes as in this quarter we are slightly ahead of our deployment schedules, so we got a little bit of an upside in the quarter because of faster than expected deployment, but If you look at new customer growth that we saw in the prior fiscal year, which is what’s driving the growth in this fiscal year.
It was very much a significant up-tick in new customer additions in the June and September quarters, which if you add six months to them and actually roll them to the P&L, you’ll see that deployment really hit in the March and June quarters. So by default you see a little bit of what you reference as back-end-loaded, because of the way the customer signs came through in the prior year.
Now, in addition to that, I think it’s important to note that from Q1 to Q2, we expect to see frankly the largest increase in absolute dollar subscription growth that we’ve ever forecast before. So we do see that being obviously back-end loaded as you mentioned, and we’re seeing success against that and so it’s really much more a factor of what’s happening to the existing customer revenue base that we’re trying to communicate here.
Thomas Ernst - Deutsche Bank
Okay and one more follow-up if you permit. You mentioned the traction with American Express and it sounds like you’re on track in terms of customers and revenues with what you had set expectations for previously. The question is, have you had the chance now to cycle the training through American Express account managers and how extensive is that? Where are we in terms of the program for going through and getting them ready? Thank you.
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