GeeKs Blogging @ dotCOM

Siebel – An Introduction to different modules

by Nitin Jain

---

In the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) space, Siebel CRM is the undisputed Market Leader, at least that is the impression I have! And not only just so. Dig a little deep into Siebel CRM and you would realize how wide and vast Siebel CRM is, in terms of both the number of functionalities it covers, and the amount of detail in each one of these functionalities that it covers. I am more and more convinced that it is not just one software, but, and entire CRM suite stack built for the purpose.

It is not like Siebel is the only CRM software in the market today, just that it is the one most popular. Originally conceived, and spearheaded by Tom Siebel, the revolutionary (if I may call him), it has now been bought out by ORACLE, the behemoth who owns such a big part of our infrastructure today (no offences intended!).

Some of the others that come to my mind straight away are:

Oracle CRM (from ORACLE Corp’s own stable)
SAP CRM
ACT! by SAGE Systems
.. are all On Premise solutions ..

Salesforce.COM
Oracle CRM OnDemand
Sugar Express
.. are all On Demand / Hosted solutions ..

Sugar CRM Professional / Enterprise
Compiere
vTiger
.. fall in the Open Source Solutions space ..

I doubt if Sugar has a competition in the Open Source solutions space, which has caught the fancy of so many CTOs off late.

Despite so many options and heated competition in the space, Siebel has maintained its position and the space.
Some of the most popularly used areas are the ones that we can broadly outline in line with Siebel CRM. These are the areas that the Contractors and other Siebel CRM Professionals would generally popularize themselves as. These are:
Siebel Configuration Expert
Siebel Server Administration Expert
Siebel Enterprise Applications Integration (EAI) Expert
Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM) Expert
Siebel Reports Expert

Over and above, we have some specialized areas and corresponding Expert Professionals with experience in them, who complement and/or form a part of above areas. These are really specialized modules, which makes finding true talent quite difficult at times of sourcing. These are something like
Siebel eConfigurator Expert
Siebel ePricer Expert
Siebel Advisor Expert
Siebel Web Services expert
Siebel UCM Expert
Siebel ICM Expert, etc.

CRM being a concept in itself, be prepared to meet lots of functional experts in the area as well. From my point of view, I see expertise in this area as the most neglected part at the time of sourcing, however, personally I believe this is the most important part. A sound fundamental is important to the long term success and viability of any process. A sound Architecture must come before a flawless Implementation for the ultimate success of a Project. Functional Expertise is most popular in the Business Analysis areas of
Siebel Order Management
Siebel Sales
Siebel eCommunications (Telecom)
Siebel ePharma
Siebel Public Sector, and many more..

I can understand if it is beginning to get complicated and jumbled up for the first timers. Seasoned professionals would be comfortable with the hidden meanings of the terms, “etc” and “many more” above. As I always say, it’s not about right or wrong, it is my perspectives, and I am free to write about them!

Related posts:

1. Siebel Server Architecture – an Introduction You may call this an introductory tutorial. Siebel as we...
2. Siebel Configuration – A day in life Consider this article as a simple overview of Siebel Configuration....
3. Siebel EIM Career – A day in Life Consider this article as a simple overview of Siebel EIM....
4. A meeting with Siebel EAI Hi, Here I am, with my promise of introducing the...
5. Siebel – EAI Series on GeeksBlogging@dotCOM Siebel EAI, aka Enterprise Application Integration is generally the most...
6. Oracle VM Templates for Siebel CRM In a normal case, to set up a Siebel CRM...
7. Siebel – Merge Records – Checklist I call this Part III, and concluding part of a...