Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems Expand Relationship To Form Global Strategic Alliance

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2001

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, one of the largest management and IT consulting firms in the world, and Siebel Systems, Inc., (NASDAQ:SEBL), the world's leading provider of eBusiness applications software, have announced a new global alliance that will strengthen and expand their programme of jointly implementing innovative eBusiness solutions and developing next generation CRM services for the world's leading companies.

As a Global Strategic Partner to Siebel Systems, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young will leverage its global presence to deliver the full range of Siebel eBusiness Applications in addition to a variety of point solutions or as part of enterprise-wide integrated solutions to transform a company's CRM effectiveness.

Mark Hauser, Group Vice President of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, says the company is committed to driving profitable growth through market leading alliance partners. "Our relationship with Siebel Systems has grown progressively over the last three years. This agreement marks a step change in our joint go-to-market activities and the associated investment is an indication of the importance of the explosive growth in the CRM market to our continued success as a world-leading consulting and integration company," he said.

A number of specific initiatives will be driven from the programme:

- A global go-to-market initiative to offer best-of-class

services for integration of customer touchpoints, allowing

clients in all industries to provide a single customer

experience across multiple channels.

- The development of Siebel Systems Centres of Excellence in EMEA and APAC,
building on the success of the Centric Group in Chicago - a collaborative CRM
showcase led by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and involving best-in-class vendors.

- A dedicated global network of application support centres supporting Siebel
eBusiness Applications, similar to the Applications Management Services Centres
(AMSCs) supporting Siebel eBusiness Applications already established by Cap
Gemini Ernst & Young in Bristol, UK and Frederikstad, Norway.

"Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems have significantly strengthened our partnership over the past 12 months through the delivery of powerful eBusiness applications and services on a global basis," said Bruce Cleveland, Senior Vice President, Alliances for Siebel Systems. "Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's commitment to 100 percent certification complements our mutual and ongoing commitment to 100 percent customer satisfaction."

"Our new strategic agreement with Siebel Systems provides further evidence that Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is a global force in CRM," said Paul Cole, Vice President and Global Head of CRM, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.

"We can offer several distinct capabilities within this alliance: we have a Siebel Systems practice of close to 1,000 consultants, with more than 300 Siebel Certified Consultants and a commitment to 100 per cent certification. We have also implemented many successful Siebel eBusiness Applications projects across a number of industry sectors; including automotive, consumer goods, energy & utilities, financial services, life sciences, retail and telecoms. We can leverage unrivalled experience in future developments and in targeting new market opportunities," Cole said.

The Global Strategic Alliance builds on a successful three-year relationship between Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems, involving collaboration on more than 150 implementations worldwide.

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems have developed a CRM solution for Deutsche Bank which when fully executed, the system will provide Deutsche Bank Global Equities with a modern communication and knowledge-based platform that promotes and facilitates cross-product awareness and cross-selling opportunities through greater customer transparency, substantially assisting Deutsche Bank in achieving its strategic goal as a top three global equity house.

The two companies also jointly implemented a (SFA) system at Alcatel, a world leader in communications networking. The company wanted to enhance its existing system for measuring and predicting customer demand by replacing the forecasting processes of its sales force with a uniform, fully co-ordinated application.

The new SFA system implemented by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems has streamlined the entire process, to better serve Alcatel's global customers in real time. The combination of expertise from Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems enabled the SFA solution to be implemented on time and on budget.

"Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Siebel Systems have already demonstrated a large number of highly-successful joint developments and collaborations, and we are looking forward to working on many more following this expanded alliance," said Dr. Steve Garnett, Vice President and General Manager Alliances, Siebel Systems.

Notes to Editors

The Centric Group is a fully integrated, production quality environment that can demonstrate end-to-end CRM solutions. It leverages the expertise of the sponsor members to create a customer connection catalyst - helping companies to think about customer relationship strategies in new and dynamic ways. The Centric Group in Chicago also involves market leaders Avaya, Genesys Telecommunications, Staffware, Nuance, NCR Corporation, Active Software, SITEL Corporation and Eyretel.