Oracle Adds Single-Tenancy to Siebel CRM Mix

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) has introduced a new single-tenant option for its Siebel CRM customers.

In contrast to the typical multitenant architecture, Siebel's Single Tenant, Enterprise Edition gives customers a path to connectivity via a fully dedicated database, middleware and application instance of Siebel CRM On Demand. The system is hosted at Oracle's data center in Austin, Texas.

Cost Factor

Several years ago, when Software as a Service applications gained popularity in the market, one of their main selling points was multitenant architecture. The database and tech stack available at the time meant that single-instance tenancy would be too expensive to deliver at then-current price points. It didn't scale well either.

Oracle has leveraged its grid computing infrastructure to build a private on-demand hosting model at a low cost, according to Anthony Lye, SVP of Siebel CRM On Demand.

The company has been able to "get the costs down to support single tenancy and offer customers a better solution," Lye told CRM Buyer.

However, Oracle is not migrating customers away from its flagship multitenant SaaS CRM product, he emphasized. This single tenancy edition is for customers that have specific needs.

Special Needs

For example, companies that work on Saturday, when system maintenance is often conducted -- such as auto dealers -- would benefit, Lye said.

Companies concerned about security or privacy issues are another potential user group, he added.

Demand will be stronger as more companies realize single tenancy is no longer the limited medium it was several years ago, Lye said.

When the present incarnation of SaaS emerged in the market several years ago, there were valid reasons to switch to multitenancy. "For a long time, SaaS was considered to be synonymous with multitenancy," Lye explained, "but I think that will change going forward as more firms realize what can be done with the technologies on the market."

Growing Numbers

For the most part, companies deploying the product now have at least a few hundred users, according to Lye. These include firms in the banking, insurance, healthcare and homebuilding industries.

Each month, Oracle deploys between six and 10 new "pods" -- the term for the hardware and software that runs an instance. A pod can be either single tenant or multitenant. Of that 10, Lye said, about seven are currently for single-tenant use.