Siebel and BEA Expand Partnership Alliance

Earlier this week Siebel announced the expansion if its strategic alliance with BEA Systems in the hope of strengthening its commitment to providing an easier integration environment for users of Siebel 7.

BEA joins the likes of Microsoft, IBM, and webMethods as a Strategic Software and Universal Application Network (UAN) Partner in Siebel's Alliance Program. Siebel also designated BEA WebLogic Integration as its strategic integration solution for UAN.

Catherine Cherubino, executive director of the Alliance Program, explains that BEA's membership in this "elite" group is based not only on the company's ability to provide new and relevant applications to customers, but also on the relationship the two companies began in 1999: "Including BEA in our UAN group takes this alliance to the next level," Cherubino says. "It involves a specific commitment to supporting the WebLogic Platform."

In expanding their alliance, the two companies have agreed to increase the number of joint development projects, as well as to cooperate on various sales and marketing initiatives. According to Cherubino, upcoming sales and marketing campaigns that Siebel and BEA are planning will focus on the communications space and consist of elements like Webinars, seminars, and various trade show appearances.

When questioned about how the current alliance strategies may help turn around Siebel's current fortunes (it posted a quarterly drop in profits of 92 percent last week), Cherubino dismissed the notion.

"If you look at all the studies, graphs, and charts out there," says Cherubino, "We've already captured the majority of the market share in a very fragmented marketplace," Cherubino says. She contends that while Siebel isn't actively searching for new companies to partner or ally itself with, if the opportunity arose to partner with a smaller company that could add real value to Siebel's offerings, the company would consider it.