Consonus Selects Siebel CRM OnDemand Over Salesforce.com to Drive Rapid Sales Growth; Server Hosting Provider Benefits From Integrated Sales and Marketing System as It Looks to Expand Throughout the Western Region

Business Wire, May 10, 2005

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Siebel Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEBL), a leading provider of business applications software, today announced that Consonus, a provider of AllWaysOn Data Center Facilities, Business Continuity, and IT managed services, chose Siebel CRM OnDemand over Salesforce.com for its hosted CRM solution. Siebel CRM OnDemand allowed Consonus to drive sales through accurate forecasting and team collaboration between sales and marketing. The company chose Siebel CRM OnDemand for its ease of use, superior reputation, and rich feature set for sales pipeline management.

"As the premier data center provider for managed dedicated server hosting in the Rocky Mountains, we are looking to expand beyond our local region. This kind of growth could not be handled effectively without the comprehensive customer relationship management capabilities that Siebel CRM OnDemand provided. Salesforce.com didn't offer us the real-time analytics capabilities that have given us 24/7 visibility across our entire systems," said Daniel Milburn, Director, Sales and Operations at Consonus. "With Siebel CRM OnDemand we can tightly manage all areas of our company, regardless of location or time of day, something that is essential to our competitive value proposition of providing superior application support."

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Consonus creates complete managed dedicated server hosting systems that deliver mission-critical business applications. A key market differentiator for Consonus is the company's ability to provide ongoing application support. Consonus database administration services reduce customer support burdens and requirements to hire and retain additional support staff. The company also presents software vendors with opportunities to host their application delivery, enabling them to expand their businesses through a broader client base. Consonus customers range from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies having one thing in common -- a critical need for 100 percent uptime with continuous and efficient support. The company has experienced rapid growth and is looking to expand throughout the Western region.

Senior management selected Siebel CRM OnDemand after an in-depth evaluation of available hosted solutions, including Salesforce.com. The Siebel CRM OnDemand subscription model supports Consonus' high-growth environment by delivering solid business results. The Siebel hosted solution lets the company deploy world-class customer relationship management (CRM) functionality quickly, with minimal up-front investment, while assuring security. With a pay-per-user approach, Consonus can expand the number of users as needed without costly hardware and software expenditures.

Consonus customers need continuous and efficient support. With Siebel CRM OnDemand, Consonus can track and service these customers and develop a deeper sense for their business requirements. As Consonus grows, it now has a better grip on its own sales processes with an easy method of recommending criteria for percentages on closure rates and pipeline modeling. Through the Siebel Sales Process Coach feature, Consonus can deploy a consistent sales methodology that mimics its best salespeople, anywhere in the country.

"Our sales force has to be very efficient in order for us to meet our growth goals," Milburn said. "This report will give us needed insight regarding the number and types of activities mapped against opportunities created. It will help us spot problems immediately -- not next week or the week after -- so we can take action and keep our salespeople focused on the right opportunities."

About Consonus

Consonus is a provider of AllWaysOn Data Center facilities, Business Continuity and IT Managed services for organizations with a critical need for 100% uptime. Consonus owns and operates three premier data centers in the Salt Lake Valley offering a set of unique services that enable their customers to perform business with confidence knowing that their systems and data are protected from both natural and man made disruptions. The company has sales and network engineering offices at its headquarters in Salt Lake City. Consonus delivers services to customers ranging in size from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and has annual revenues of approximately $8 million. Visit www.consonus.com or call direct 888-311-2600.

About Siebel CRM OnDemand

Siebel CRM OnDemand is a hosted CRM offering delivered over the Web and accessible from an Internet browser at a fixed price per user per month. Customers can deploy Siebel CRM OnDemand quickly, easily, and affordably without any up-front IT investments. Hosted by IBM, Siebel CRM OnDemand delivers complete sales, marketing, and service functionality; built-in customer analytics; virtual call center technology; embedded best practices; and world-class hosting services and support. Siebel CRM OnDemand is now available for purchase. For more information, visit www.crmondemand.com

About Siebel Systems

Siebel Systems is the world's leading provider of customer-facing solutions that deliver demonstrable business results and long-term competitive advantage. Siebel's multichannel offerings allow organizations to intelligently manage and coordinate all customer interactions across the Web, contact center, field sales/service force, branch/retail network, and indirect and partner distribution channels. Siebel solutions draw upon the company's best-in-class capabilities in customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence, and customer data integration and can be deployed as licensed software or as a hosted service. Siebel solutions are tailored to the unique needs of 23 industries and incorporate industry-specific business processes, best practices, and business insight. They are the product of more than $2 billion in R&D investments and reflect over 11 years of experience with more than 4,000 organizations. Together with its extensive global network of alliance partners, Siebel provides the people, process, and technology expertise critical in driving business value from the deployment of customer-facing solutions. Over 3 million users worldwide in organizations of all sizes depend on Siebel solutions to deliver dramatic improvements in how they identify, acquire, retain, and serve customers. For more information, visit www.siebel.com.