Siebel Systems has introduced Siebel CRM OnDemand
Release 6, which the supplier claims doubles the level of
functionality previously available in the hosted application. The
new version also includes pre-built industry specific support for
some markets to ease integration.
"We have changed the game in hosted customer relationship
management with this release. We are dramatically accelerating the
return on investment for organisations deploying Siebel CRM
OnDemand, while continuing to enhance its ease-of-use," said Bruce
Cleveland, Siebel senior vice-president and general manager for
OnDemand.
"Unlike vanilla solutions that require customers to undertake
expensive and time-consuming custom software development, Siebel
CRM OnDemand provides pre-built support for industry-specific
business processes, enabling organisations to rapidly and
affordably achieve sales, marketing and service success."
"By delivering pre-built industry-specific capabilities, Siebel
CRM OnDemand enables organisations to better serve customers than a
generic hosted CRM solution would," said Denis Pombriant, an
analyst at Beagle Research.
"Even if a generic hosted CRM solution can be customised to
partially address industry-specific requirements, it could take
four to six months longer to deploy, and require upwards of
£300,000 in up-front and ongoing costs," he said.
As well as the generic version, Siebel CRM OnDemand Release 6 is
available in four pre-built industry-specific editions: Siebel CRM
OnDemand Financial Services Edition: Wealth Management/ Insurance
Edition, Siebel CRM OnDemand High Tech Edition for technology
companies, Siebel CRM OnDemand Life Sciences Edition: Medical
Edition for medical suppliers, and Siebel CRM OnDemand Automotive
Edition.
Siebel CRM OnDemand Release 6 costs from £40 per user a month.
The software is hosted by IBM Global Services and competes against
solutions from companies such as Salesforce.com.