[October 1, 2001]

Cisco Systems To Support Siebel 7 With IP-Based Contact Center Functionality

Cisco Systems, Inc. announced its support for Siebel 7 by providing one of the first Internet Protocol (IP)-based contact center capabilities for the seventh major release of Siebel eBusiness Applications from Siebel Systems Inc. Cisco will develop and submit integrations between the Cisco customer contact software platform and Siebel 7 within 90 days of general availability, providing organizations with complete eBusiness solutions that increase productivity, maximize revenue and profit, and significantly enhance customer acquisition, satisfaction, and retention.

Siebel Systems enables software vendors to easily integrate solutions through its open, extensible, advanced Smart Web Architecture. Unlike rudimentary HTML clients, Siebel Smart Web Architecture combines a zero-footprint, browser-based Web client and a user interface with levels of interactivity and usability traditionally available only in Windows applications.

By integrating Siebel 7 with components of the Cisco customer contact software platform, such as Cisco Intelligent Contact Management (ICM) and Cisco Collaboration Server (CCS), as well as the Cisco IP Contact Center (IPCC) solution, the two companies blend Siebel Systems' customer-centric eBusiness applications with Cisco's extensive multi-channel and multi-media IP telephony capabilities. This helps corporations maximize business productivity by better aligning resources to effectively manage and engage their customers.

"Siebel Systems has delivered on their effort to deliver pure Internet software as evidenced by Siebel 7's Smart Web Architecture," said Brett Shockley, vice president and general manager for Cisco's Customer Contact Business Unit. "When Siebel 7 is combined with our leading IP-based customer contact software platform, our shared customers can easily migrate from legacy to IP-based infrastructures to effectively manage their customer interactions, from voice to Web collaboration, through an end-to-end customer-centric solution."

The integrated solution will enable organizations to develop closer relationships with their customers by closely linking customer data from enterprise systems to an IP-based, multi-channel contact center solution for increased productivity, business flexibility, and reduced operational costs. Customers using Siebel eBusiness Applications integrated with Cisco's customer contact solutions will gain:

• Enterprise-wide contact routing over a multi-site contact center environment, connecting customers to the most knowledgeable agent, regardless of agent location.
• Validated computer telephony integration (CTI) for major automatic call distributor (ACD)and interactive voice response (IVR) products.
• Seamless migration from proprietary, legacy telephony infrastructure to IP standards-based, voice/data infrastructure, enabling companies to extend investments in legacy infrastructure.
• Enhanced customer intelligence and reporting with a single comprehensive view of all customer interactions collected in enterprise-wide eBusiness applications.

"With this announcement, Cisco and Siebel Systems continue to extend our strategic relationship," said Steve Garnett, Vice President and General Manager of Alliances for Siebel Systems. "Cisco is the pioneer in developing IP-based technologies. By combining the Cisco customer contact software platform with Siebel 7, our shared customers will immediately be able to deploy Siebel 7 with IP-based contact center solutions for increased productivity, business flexibility, and reduced operational costs."

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