Oracle will provide an online sales force automation software package at no cost to its customers.
In the face of a constantly maturing customer relationship management market and an increasing need among businesses to provide real-time interactive information to front-end and analytical CRM sales applications, Oracle has announced that it will provide a basic sales force automation (SFA) software package at no cost to its customers. To provide the free system, Oracle, the world’s second largest software company, has officially launched OracleSalesOnline.com. Customers using Oracle’s web-based applications are not required to install any hardware or software. The site will enable end-users, primarily mid- to large-size companies to have immediate access to SFA products normally designed to be delivered via CD. By making this bold move, Oracle is taking direct aim at an arena largely dominated by Siebel Systems and hoping to change the dynamic of the SFA market.
There is some risk to Oracle’s strategy as the market already has relatively low-cost competitors offering complete, not just basic, SFA packages. Additionally, although Oracle has stated that its software code is exactly the same as its CD-based systems, there is the ever-present possibility that potential customers may relate free software with a service of lesser qualitywhat you get is what you pay for. So far, Oracle seems to have built a solid client foundation eager to begin the e-business transformation with little or no risk to them. It remains to be seen how well these companies will adapt when the need arises to purchase the fee-based add-on applications.
The basic SFA software will allow Oracle to gain access to customers it may not otherwise have been able to reach. Ultimately, the worth of Oracle’s SFA system will be measured not solely upon its cost to the end-user, but also on the value of its added applications, ease of interaction and the added benefits provided by channel partnerships. It is here that the true success of Oracle’s move will be determined.
