Oracle Fulfills Demand Again

Oracle on Wednesday announced the release of its latest version of Oracle CRM On Demand. Version 10, the 10th such release in two years, is built on the hosted CRM suite of Siebel Systems, which Oracle finished acquiring in January 2006. Oracle On Demand 10 pricing starts at $70 per user, per month. According to the company, new features for the Oracle hosted suite include enhanced customizability; secure enterprise sign-on processes; deeper sales and service support; and expanded support for verticals such as life sciences and financial services. "With [this release] Oracle On Demand becomes an even more powerful option for driving sales, marketing, and service success, with a fast-to-deploy CRM solution that is easily configurable by business users," wrote Juergen Rottler, executive vice president of Oracle On Demand and Oracle Support, in a statement. Oracle On Demand 10 adds its own version of the increasingly popular single sign-on protocol, which lets users access the application as soon as they sign onto the network. A robust enterprise logon module supports those logging procedures, giving administrators more control over logon, logout, and access across the organization. Custom database objects allow Oracle On Demand 10 users to link complementary data to standard CRM objects like leads and contracts, improving the view of customers and operations. Custom tabs are a means for tying outside applications directly to the CRM interface in a more efficient way. "Oracle is doing a good job of walking the line between ease of use and depth of functionality," says Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research for Nucleus Research. The new version includes a Life Sciences Edition and a Financial Services Edition, adding specialized support for the two verticals. Both sport a number of customizations and tweaks for their respective industries; Life Sciences Edition includes a call detailing module for recording account contact information, while Financial Services Edition adds advanced collaboration functions and wealth management. "More and more vendors are adding collaboration to financial services," Wettemann notes. "Doing this helps sales and marketing work together more consistently." Expanded sales and service functions are also included. "At a high level, it's great that Oracle continues to drive innovation in the on-demand platform market," Wettemann says. "At a deeper level, I'm impressed with the system's verticality and the amount of customizability it adds for customers." Related articles: Oracle Versus SAP: The Gathering SOA Storm Oracle Looks to Get More Out of Data Siebel Shareholders Approve the Oracle Takeover

Related Articles

Oracle CRM On Demand Takes Aim at Salesforce.com

A slew of enhancements mark the 16th update to Oracle's software-as-a-service CRM option, and comparisons to Salesforce.com abound.