Siebel shareholders have approved Oracle’s US$5.85bn takeover of the company. The move will position Oracle to compete more aggressively against German software giant SAP in the growing field of CRM (customer relationship management).
The deal effectively makes Oracle the largest vendor of CRM software in the world. CRM, which effectively enables companies to manage their sales forces better, is one of the fastest-growing technology products in the business world.
An ebullient Oracle CEO Larry Ellison commented: “”Oracle is now the undisputed leader in CRM software.
“Oracle’s focus on modern, standards-based applications and middleware is moving us into a leadership position in applications and on-demand services. Siebel accelerates that move,” Ellison said.
At a special meeting yesterday, Siebel shareholders almost unanimously approved the deal.
It is understood Oracle plans to make Siebel’s applications the centrepiece of its CRM strategy for its forthcoming Fusion Application Suite, which is scheduled for release in 2007 and aims to create a single application suite to which Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and Siebel users can migrate.
“Siebel’s expertise with industry-specific customer-facing applications combined with rich analytics will not only serve as the centerpiece of our CRM strategy for Oracle Fusion Applications but can also be used to extend our current customers investments today,” said Oracle president Charles Phillips.
By John Kennedy
