SO: What attracted you to head Accenture's Siebel Practice?

Saj: Siebel is one of Accenture's most strategic alliances, with a major presence globally across many industries, and to be asked to be the leader of our 4,000+ person Siebel Practice is a great honor --- and challenge.

SO: What past experiences will you be able to draw from in your new role?

Saj: I've been working with Siebel almost since they drew up their original business plan, and I've been part of a number of 'firsts' for implementation of products. Over the years, I've architected and/or led engagements in virtually every industry. Accenture and Siebel have truly been CRM pioneers, and it's been great to be a part of that evolution.

SO: Do you think all of the bad news about Siebel Systems is justified?

Saj: For a long time Siebel was one of the fastest growing software companies in the world, with an un-matched vision and offering in the marketplace. But these days they are faced with the realities of a slower market, tighter purse strings, and other established enterprise software providers moving aggressively into the CRM space. These dynamics inevitably bring growing pains and challenges, but Siebel is addressing their organizational and previous customer-facing shortcomings, not only with the recent changes in leadership, but with the culture changes that are clearly starting to come from within. To borrow a phrase, "The reports of Siebel's demise are greatly exaggerated." CRM as a capability area is still in its infancy, and Siebel remains the dominant software provider.

SO: What do you think are the biggest problems facing Siebel Systems?

Saj: I think the increased competition from seasoned enterprise players, and the threats from upstart business models are forcing changes to Siebel's product as well as go-to-market practices. While still the dominant CRM leader, Siebel has to be more nimble in how it reacts to changing market forces - from customer demands to product strategy to teaming with alliance partners.

SO: What do you think the future holds for Siebel Systems?

Saj: CRM as an industry is just starting to hit its stride, and will deliver a tremendous upside to those companies addressing it appropriately with their clients. I expect Siebel to be in - and lead - the race every step of the way. Their new CEO, Mike Lawrie, brings a burst of energy and new thinking to Siebel, so I'm optimistic about their future (otherwise I would not have taken the role!).

Important program elements include:

BPO-Specific Pricing Models: Siebel Systems designed unique pricing structures that allow partners to map expense and value for a variety of client engagement models. In addition, Siebel now offers various subscription models with flexible term options to help partners meet their revenue needs.

Flexible Inventory Management: Partners have the ability to apply BPO pricing to all product configurations to accommodate the broadest range of user type; from entry level call center personnel to sophisticated business analysts.

Prioritized Support for Partners: Siebel is offering additional marketing and technology support for partners in market segments defined by industry, geography, application, business process and client size.

"Clients realize their greatest return on investment in Siebel's technology when they focus on business outcomes and re-architect key processes to achieve desired business results," said Marty Sunde, Vice President and GM, Alliances, Siebel Systems. "Business Process Outsourcing firms are experiencing unprecedented growth because they are willing to align their business return in proportion to the business value their clients receive. Siebel is endorsing the power of this alignment with our new BPO offerings."

EDS and Siebel Systems will integrate Siebel products with EDS services to create industry-specific outsourcing solutions. The companies will jointly sell to clients looking for business process strategy and solutions.

"This alliance capitalizes on years of experience from two technology leaders that are laser-focused on improving customer interactions and satisfaction in the business process outsourcing marketplace," said Marty Sunde, Vice President and GM, Alliances, Siebel Systems. "Combining EDS' process expertise with Siebel Systems' unparalleled breadth and depth of industry knowledge provides customers with unmatched BPO solutions across the globe in every industry."

Brakes will implement Siebel Consumer Goods to integrate customer information from all of its operating subsidiaries, providing the company with a single, multi-channel view of each customer. More than 700 telesales agents will be equipped to provide accurate and comprehensive customer service, spanning order taking, delivery status, reorders, and billing queries. Seamless integration with the company's SAP back-office applications will create real-time, end-to-end business process integration-allowing agents to immediately inform customers about stock availability, order status, and "live pricing" product bundling discounts.

" By providing a unified customer view across all touchpoints, Siebel Consumer Goods will help Brakes to identify new sales and marketing opportunities, segment and target potential customers with personalized campaigns, and deliver first-class service," says Nadia Adrien, Project Director, Brakes.

ATG's online commerce and marketing software combined with Primus' customer service software solutions will create one of the industry's largest online commerce and service software companies. The combination will produce the most complete consumer-facing platform to work seamlessly through Web, email, call center, and other channels.

As part of the transaction, ATG anticipates that it will be adding two members to its board of directors, bringing the total to nine board members. It is anticipated that Michael Brochu and Daniel Regis, chairman of Primus' audit committee, will become members of the board of directors of ATG.

"The combination of ATG's commerce and marketing solutions with Primus' award-winning customer service and support technologies is a powerful and natural fit," said Michael Brochu, chairman, president and CEO of Primus. "This joint offering will provide enterprises with the industry's most integrated customer experience solution to power their e-business initiatives and is a win-win for our customers, shareholders, employees, and partners."