Analyst Firm Recognizes Siebel Systems as a Leading Provider of Hosted CRM Solutions; Report Cites Hybrid Sales Model and Industry-Specific Offerings

Business Wire, July 21, 2004

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Siebel Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL), a leading provider of business applications software, has been recognized as a leader in the rapidly growing hosted CRM market, according to a June 2004 report from Forrester Research. The report cites several characteristics of Siebel Systems' hosted CRM solution, which entered the market only six months ago, including a hybrid deployment model, industry-specific offerings, a strong international presence, and partnerships.

According to the report, entitled "How to Choose a Hosted Sales Solution," midmarket firms and divisions of large enterprises are showing renewed interest in CRM. For many, hosted sales offers good basic relationship management and increased sales autonomy, without costly long-term commitments. To help these companies select the best option for their organization, the report examines product offerings of four major vendors, evaluating them across three key dimensions:

--  Current Offering -- Forrester's assessment of the strength of
        various providers' hosted CRM solutions used Forrester's
        TechRankings methodology, an evaluation process combining
        hands-on, scenario-based testing and vendor research with
        strategic market analysis and insight. Using this process,
        Forrester evaluated Siebel Systems' hosted CRM solution
        against more than 100 criteria, including functionality,
        usability, service offerings, and cost. The assessment also
        incorporated three user scenarios -- sales representative,
        sales manager, and application administrator.

        Siebel Systems' hosted CRM solution is the only hosted CRM
        solution currently offering advanced analytics, hosted contact
        center capabilities, and a fully hosted enterprise application
        integration server.

    --  Strategy -- Firms looking to buy an SFA solution want a
        product that not only meets today's requirements, but will
        also evolve to meet future needs, according to the Forrester
        report. To assess the various vendors' hosted solution
        strategies, Forrester interviewed each vendor about its
        product vision -- including planned functionality and
        enhancements -- and sales and implementation strategy,
        measuring the vendors' focus on strategic partnerships and
        global reach.

        Siebel Systems' hosted CRM product vision incorporates
        recently introduced industry-specific editions and also
        provides the industry's only hybrid deployment model. This
        model allows organizations to deploy integrated hosted and on
        premise CRM solutions that can scale and evolve to meet
        companies' changing needs. Also, Siebel Systems, the world's
        leading provider of CRM solutions, with 82 offices in 28
        countries, has partnered with IBM, the global leader in
        delivering hosted applications, to effectively deliver Siebel
        Systems' hosted CRM solution to organizations worldwide.
        According to the Forrester report's author, Erin Kinikin:
        "With more than $1.4 billion in annual revenue, nearly 5,000
        employees, and a strong international presence, (Siebel
        Systems) has the resources to make its hosted CRM offering
        compelling...."

    --  Market Presence -- Also according to Forrester, in this
        rapidly changing market with frequent new entrants, firms must
        consider vendor viability. To assess each vendor's market
        presence, Forrester measured revenues, profitability, customer
        base, and reach.

        Demonstrating its market viability, Siebel Systems, founded in
        1993, has delivered business applications to more than 4,000
        customers, has 2.36 million users currently in production, and
        generated revenues of $1.35 billion in 2003.

"Siebel Systems created the CRM market and has set the standard for on premise CRM solutions for more than ten years," said Mike Betzer, Vice President and General Manager, Siebel CRM OnDemand. "We've expanded this leading market position with Siebel CRM OnDemand and are pleased that Forrester Research has ranked Siebel Systems as a leading provider of hosted CRM solutions and that tens of thousands of companies globally have expressed interest in our hosted offering."

Companies of all sizes are deploying Siebel CRM OnDemand to quickly and easily provide world-class CRM capabilities to employees. Haworth, one of the largest office furniture and workspace manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Holland, Michigan and with sales and manufacturing facilities in over 40 countries, is deploying Siebel CRM OnDemand to create a consolidated view of customer accounts, increase sales pipeline visibility, and facilitate collaboration between sales members. According to Al Lanning, Haworth Global Vice President of Sales, "We chose Siebel CRM OnDemand because of its enterprise-class sales functionality, scalability, multilingual support, and partner management capabilities. We will be able to provide the highest levels of service to our customer groups, efficiently coordinate sales activities around the globe, and -- with additional insight into our sales pipeline -- more accurately forecast sales revenue and precisely meet our customers' needs."