Siebel Systems, currently global market leader in enterprise relationship management, will continue to lead the technology enabled selling (TES) marketplace in 2002, predicts GartnerGroup.
GartnerGroup states the strong demand from enterprises to leverage inside sales people as a hub for customer interaction has created a market for software and services that will reach $1.9 billion by 2002.
In its latest report on this ERM market (30 Dec 1998), GartnerGroup says TES market 2002 leadership will be driven by key criteria in sales and marketing, partnerships, architecture and technology, and rich functionality.
Siebel`s first quarter results for 1999 reveal the company is forging ahead. Siebel`s revenue increased 81 percent and net income increased 119 percent over the same period in 1998. An analyst aptly described the results as a "blow-out quarter".
"We`ve never seen a healthier market," says Pat House, executive vice president and co-founder of Siebel Systems.
Siebel automates sales, customer support, marketing and other applications used to interact with people outside the company. Siebel is represented locally by SPL, part of the Dimension Data Group.
GartnerGroup rates Siebel as one of the leading, visionary vendors in the consumer goods sector as well as the opportunity management systems and inside selling applications markets.
Siebel`s success in the ERM arena is founded on its intensive market research prior to producing an offering. Siebel Systems, formed in 1993, spent the entire first year researching and then looked to develop ERM technology.
Tom Siebel, CEO, says: "We spent a lot of time talking to customers. Before we wrote a line of code, we spent almost a year interviewing people at 50 organisations, from Compaq to Cisco to Chevron to BankAmerica. We spent a great deal of time with these organisations to understand their information requirements regarding sales and customer service systems, for the second half of this decade and for the next decade."
Siebel hit the right formula for ERM and the company quickly took the market lead, growing market share from 9% in 1995 to 64% in 1998. Siebel`s financial results for the first quarter ending 31 March 1999 have tallied $21.3 million in earnings on $134.1 million in revenue. Revenues, net income, and net income per diluted share for the first quarter of 1999 were $134.1 million, $21.3 million and $0.20, respectively. This compares with revenues, net income, and net income per diluted share of $74.2 million, $9.7 million and $0.10 respectively, during the corresponding period in 1998.
Revenues from license fees for the first quarter of 1999 increased 67 percent over the comparable period of 1998 while revenues from maintenance, consulting and other services increased 124 percent over the comparable period of the prior year.
Siebel is positioned at the hub of customer service and sales applications and is moving into the marketing applications market.
"We played primarily in the sales-automation space until about 1996. Then we went into the customer service market. Today, 35 percent to 40 percent of our revenue comes from the customer service space. In the future, I would also expect 25 percent of our revenue to come out of the marketing information systems space," says Siebel.
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Siebel Systems
Siebel Systems is a global market leader in enterprise-class sales, marketing, and customer service information systems for global organisations focused on increasing sales and service effectiveness in field sales, service organisations, telesales, telemarketing, call centers, and third-party resellers. The company`s Windows-based client/server software combines a standards-based open architecture with new and emerging technologies to enable exceptional scalability, configurability, functionality, and performance. Siebel Systems` corporate alliances include Andersen Consulting, and Compaq Computer Corporation. Siebel Systems product and service information is located on the World Wide Web at www.siebel.com.
SPL
SPL, part of the Dimension Data Group, has long been recognised as a high value IT partner to South African corporations and government. The company focuses on customer management, information management and enterprise systems.
SPL is investing heavily to position itself as the dominant player in the provision of total customer relationship management (CRM) solutions in South Africa. It was as part of this drive that the company forged a strategic partnership with Siebel Enterprise Systems.
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