Oracle Ratchets Up Cloud CRM Battle with CRM On Demand
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) today unveiled the latest version of Oracle CRM On Demand, ratcheting up competition in a market that has already seen major releases from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) this year.
CRM On Demand release 19 includes new native mobile CRM apps for BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad devices and new integration with Microsoft Outlook.
Anthony Lye, senior vice president of Oracle CRM, describes the online CRM market as a battle for price on the low end between Microsoft and Salesforce, while Oracle and Salesforce compete on “strategic value” at the high end of the market.
Lye told Enterprise Apps Today that CRM On Demand helps customers “get smarter, more productive, at the best cost.”
By “smarter,” Lye noted that Oracle offers an integrated data warehouse with CRM On Demand, an advantage over Salesforce and Microsoft, he said.
The native mobile apps are initially for RIM and Apple platforms, with Android planned for later. Lye said the apps are built on the Fusion Middleware platform and record changes instantly from sales reps in the field.
New hosted CRM code with client-side extensions gives customers the ability to customize their environment.
A new insurance industry edition joins other Oracle CRM On Demand apps aimed at the technology, financial services, automotive and life sciences industries.
Combined with Siebel CRM, Lye said Oracle performs “equally well on premise or on demand.” Some customers of both products use Siebel CRM for business to consumer (B2C) accounts and On Demand for business to business (B2B), while others might divide them up for tier 1, 2 and 3 accounts, Lye said.
Pricing for Oracle CRM On Demand starts at $75 per user per month for multi-tenant users, $95 a month for the single-tenant standard edition, and $130 for the single-tenant enterprise edition.
Paul Ferrill has been writing for over 15 years about computers and network technology. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering as well as a MS in Electrical Engineering. He is a regular contributor to the computer trade press. He has a specialization in complex data analysis and storage. He has written hundreds of articles and two books for various outlets over the years. His articles have appeared in Enterprise Apps Today and InfoWorld, Network World, PC Magazine, Forbes, and many other publications.
