Oracle Corp. today unveiled a new licensing option designed to make it easier for users of its Siebel CRM On Demand product to collaborate with resellers and other partners using the software-as-a-service offering.
Under the Siebel CRM On Demand Partner Subscription option, resellers and other manufacturing channel partners can license a subset of the on-demand CRM offering that will allow them to collaborate with manufacturers on joint sales, marketing, and service activities, Oracle officials said.
The Siebel CRM On Demand Partner Subscription option, priced from $20 per user per month, includes lead, opportunity, campaign, and service request management features, as well as analytics and market development funds support. The offering includes configuration of the on-demand service to allow manufacturers and channel partners to share business processes and information, according to Oracle officials.
Using the service, for example, manufacturers and their sales channel partners would be able to share and jointly track sales leads.
The Siebel CRM On Demand Partner Subscription option does not include other features of the standard Siebel CRM On Demand offering, such as call center, account management, product catalog/management, and quote/order capture.
Oracle Siebel CRM On Demand customer Sanjay Kaul, IT manager at data storage equipment manufacturer NetApp StoreVault, said, in a prepared statement, "This Oracle solution gives us the flexibility to engage our partner channel and streamline communication at a price point that is compelling."
On-demand software-based service offerings are a small, but growing, piece of Oracle's overall applications business. Total revenue from Oracle's on-demand business was $167 million in the company's most recent fiscal quarter, ended Nov. 30, 2007. That figure was up 19% compared with the $140 million in on-demand business the company reported in the comparable quarter last year.
In separate Oracle news, the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) announced that it has hired a new executive director to replace Steven Hughes, the group's leader for the past six years.
Mike Levin, formerly executive director of the Atlanta regional office for the AeA (formerly known as the American Electronics Association), was named the OAUG's new executive director. Levin was with the AeA for eight years. Before that, he was president and CEO of the International Coffee Organization.
OAUG, an independent advocacy group representing 2,000 Oracle applications user organizations, said former Executive Director Hughes will continue with the group in an advisory capacity.