Delivers integrated hosted and on-premise CRM solution
San Mateo, CA — November 4, 2003 — Multi-channel business applications software provider Siebel Systems Inc. today announced that it has closed its acquisition of UpShot Corp., a pioneer in delivering hosted customer relationship management (CRM) service over the Internet.
Under the terms of the deal, $50 million in cash will initially be paid to the UpShot shareholders, and up to an additional $20 million in cash may be paid in earn-outs during 2003 and 2004.
The UpShot acquisition accelerates Siebel Systems' penetration of the hosted CRM market, which Siebel said is estimated to exceed $2.7 billion by 2006. Specifically, the provider gains more than 100 employees and an additional 1,000 customers.
"The acquisition of UpShot by Siebel Systems significantly alters the CRM landscape. Siebel gains recognition that they are seriously investing in the on demand market. UpShot customers not only gain investment protection, but also a more scalable platform built upon J2EE and IBM WebSphere," said Sheryl Kingstone, Yankee Group.
Since the acquisition has been announced, Siebel has committed to support every UpShot customer indefinitely.
"This is great news for UpShot and UpShot customers," said Kathy Fiore, chief information officer of AccuWeather, an UpShot customer since 2001. "We have been pleased with the UpShot service and for them to now be a part of a resourced company like Siebel is very positive for us." AccuWeather is a provider of weather products and services benefiting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
"As an UpShot customer, Colfax Power Transmission Group is encouraged by this merger," said David Brooksbank, manager of Market Development, Colfax Power Transmission Group. "This is a significant move forward for the hosted CRM model." Colfax Power Transmission Group is a provider of industrial power transmission and has been an UpShot customer since 2003.
Earlier this month, Siebel Systems and IBM jointly announced Siebel CRM OnDemand, a hosted CRM offering. Siebel Systems will offer Siebel CRM OnDemand plus Siebel CRM OnDemand—UpShot Edition, with a roadmap to converge the best of both products.
UpShot customers can continue indefinitely with the Siebel CRM OnDemand—UpShot Edition product. They will also be offered a next-generation hosted CRM product that combines the strength of Siebel's product architecture and the UpShot functionality and best practices for hosted CRM.
"We fundamentally believe that the decision to host a CRM solution or implement it on premise is not binary," said Steve Bonadio, Senior Program director, META Group Inc. "Several factors — including application best fit, growth and migration, IT maturity and constraints, and cost of ownership — must be explored prior to making a deployment decision. While both hosted and on premise CRM applications can provide significant value, we believe the winners in the space will offer both options, with well-defined integration and a migration path between the two delivery models."
