Siebel Systems Awarded Four Mobile CRM Patents

Business Wire, March 13, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2002

New Patents Further Demonstrate Siebel 7 Technology Leadership and

Extend Siebel's Advantage in Mobile Field Sales and Service

Siebel Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL), the world's leading provider of eBusiness applications software, today announced that the United States Patent Office has issued four additional patents to the company for its unique technologies that securely connect intermittently connected mobile clients and distributed database servers. U.S. Patent Nos. 6,216,135; 6,266,669; 6,324,693; and 6,233,617, which were issued between April and November 2001, extend Siebel Systems' comprehensive intellectual property protection on Siebel Remote and Siebel Replication Manager, the database replication and synchronization methods that provide consistent up-to-date information across the largest global enterprises. These unique technologies complement the Smart Web Architecture in Siebel 7, the company's latest release of its award-winning eBusiness applications.

Mobile User Support -- a Multichannel Imperative

Mobile CRM Applications enable sales, marketing and service professionals to perform critical business functions in a disconnected environment. These users need immediate access to a rich database of customer, product and company information while working offline and the ability to easily synchronize intermittently connected nomadic client devices to the central server.

Siebel Systems is the only applications software company to provide scalable database synchronization to the enterprise as a core component of its product lines. The new patents address Siebel eBusiness Applications' unique ability to flexibly handle the synchronization challenges associated with even the most complex organizational structures, organizational changes or territory realignments. Thousands of large companies use Siebel Systems' synchronization technology to successfully run their global sales, marketing, and service organizations. This technology fills a critical requirement for these companies to provide reliable and accurate information to their mobile professionals in the field.

"We have a highly distributed sales force in more than 30 countries around the world. By synchronizing their laptops, the sales force is informed about teamed account activities, performance measures, and system-wide communications," said Karen Moneta, director of Sales and Customer Support Systems, APL. "This allows us to manage global accounts around the world and make critical strategic changes, as necessary, quickly and in a coordinated fashion."

Proven, Scalable Synchronization for Mobile, Regional Users

These patented technologies were developed by Siebel Systems' software engineers to further the company's lead in providing world-class database synchronization and secure communications between the server and the mobile web client. The technology of U.S. Patent No. 6,216,135 allows data visibility rules to be stored at a central location. This patent addresses the need for an easy-to-use mechanism that reduces the overall amount of data replicated to mobile clients without expensive, time-consuming programming. Remote users enjoy a rich and flexible data model without excessive replication of data to their handheld or laptop computer.

The technology of U.S. Patent No. 6,266,669 enables customers to deploy Siebel databases at regional sites. Users at these sites experience faster response times while enjoying all the data access and functionality of users at headquarters. The patented synchronization technique also enables users to access their regional database when network connections to headquarters are unavailable or slow. Using regional databases can also reduce the overall load placed on the headquarters database. Regional offices can have autonomy over their sites, and end users at regional sites can also have mobile replicated databases based on the regional database.

The technology of U.S. Patent No. 6,324,693 empowers disconnected users, such as field sales or service representatives, to seamlessly upgrade distributed clients. Users are given the ease of use and timesaving benefits of eliminating the need for manual software updates, thus reducing the overall cost of administration. The stand-alone Web client automatically detects and downloads updates of Siebel eBusiness Applications during the normal synchronization process.

"Siebel Systems' patented mobile technology has enabled our sales professionals to engage our customers within long sales cycles and allows them to access customer information while working in a disconnected environment -- with amazing reliability and ease -- just as if they were working from their offices," said Nathalie Pfeffer, Marketing and CRM manager, Renault TRUCKS. "The Siebel Systems mobile technology supports hundreds of Renault TRUCKS professionals worldwide. Nearly all of our professionals work off-line most of the time - and Siebel Systems' synchronization technology allows them to access customer information easily and seamlessly while working off-line."