EE204: Business Management for
Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists

Oracle vs. Salesforce.com

Read

  1. Read: Marketing Myopia
  2. Review the Rule of 72
  3. Oracle vs. Salesforce.com

Case Summary

In this case we explore the phenomenon of software becoming a service. Salesforce.com has catapulted into the lead for offering a customer relationship management (CRM) solution as a Web-based service. Oracle has acquired Siebel Systems; the leader in CRM packaged software sales. Oracle’s challenge is to integrate the acquisition and has devise a strategy to compete with salesforce.com

Discussion Questions

  1. Describe the competitive forces in the CRM market
    1. When Saleforce.com was founded
    2. When Siebel entered the market
    3. ...And now after the Oracle acquisition of Siebel
  2. What are Oracle/Siebel and Salesforce.com’s strategiesnow?
  3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each company?
  4. How successful is each company strategically and financially?
  5. What business would Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff say they are in?
  6. Segment the CRM market. What do the customers of each segment want in a CRM solution? Which companies compete in the different segments and how successful are they?
  7. Compare (features, price, channel of distribution) the product offerings of Siebel, Salesforce.com for each segment.
  8. What strategy do you recommend to Larry Ellison for beating Salesforce.com? Who will be the long term winner and why?