Headline Feeds
Siebel Systems, a leading provider of business applications software, today announced new enhancements in its comprehensive CRM suite for the energy industry, Siebel Energy 7.7, that further enhances its capabilities.
The enhancements include functionality that enables energy and utility service providers to enroll, service and retain customers using integrated marketing, sales and customer 
service CRM applications, which support customer needs through all stages of the customer life cycle.
Siebel Energy 7.7 offers a comprehensive CRM suite for the energy industry, aimed at cost savings and enhanced customer satisfaction. Its set of integration tools allows energy companies to leverage investments in existing back-office systems with seamless integration to customer and partner-facing applications.
Simplifying, Speeding Deployment
"Our goal is to provide solutions that help Energy companies efficiently deliver consistently positive customer experiences," Siebel Energy Vice President and General Manager Dan Ford said.
He added: "Siebel Energy 7.7 takes the world's leading CRM platform to higher levels, with increased depth of customer care functionality, enhanced usability and lower total cost of ownership."
The software simplifies and speeds deployment, upgrade and maintenance, and it reduces the time and effort required to implement and test customizations. It includes improvements to the Siebel Smart Web Architecture.
The company said the cumulative result is a 39 percent reduction in overall total cost of ownership as compared to previous Siebel releases. Siebel Energy 7.7 has been available and shipping since the launch of the Siebel 7.7 platform in April.
Prebuilt Functionality
Working closely with some of the world's leading energy and utility service providers, Siebel Systems has extended its business architecture to design and deliver prebuilt functionality that addresses many of the industry's most critical business challenges. It allows business to:
representatives to maximize margins with custom offers, and provides account representatives with up-selling and cross-selling recommendations.
In developing Siebel Energy 7.7, Siebel Systems identified and addressed eight major cost factors: installation, configuration, operations, upgrades, performance, usability, testing, and integration. It set quantifiable cost reduction goals for each factor.
Understanding Needs, Behavior
Gottfried Meier, IT manager for Erdgas Sudsachsen, a leading German utility, said, "The optimal means of distinguishing our service in this crowded marketplace is through the delivery of a consistent, satisfying customer service experience."
He explained: "To achieve this, we needed a total, integrated understanding of our customers' needs and behavior. Siebel Energy 7.7 allows us to target key customers, accelerate and streamline the order-to-installation life cycle, and back our compelling energy product suite with great service."
The utilities industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation as restructuring, privatization, the expansion of services and offerings into new markets, and continued cost pressures increase competition in the marketplace. This makes attracting, servicing and retaining customers in an efficient manner more critical than ever.
Business Applications Software
Siebel Systems is a leading provider of business applications software, enabling corporations to sell to, market to, and serve customers across multiple channels and lines of business.
With more than 4,000 customer deployments worldwide, Siebel Systems provides organizations with a set of industry-specific best practices, CRM applications, analytics products, and business processes, allowing them to consistently deliver superior customer experiences and establish more profitable customer relationships.
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