Siebel Systems, Inc. (/ˈsiːbəl/) was an American software company principally engaged in the design, development, marketing, and support of customer relationship management (CRM) applications—notably Siebel CRM.
The company was founded by Thomas Siebel and Patricia House in 1993. At first known mainly for its sales force automation products,[1] the company expanded into the broader CRM market.[2] By the late 1990s, Siebel Systems was the dominant CRM vendor, peaking at 45% market share in 2002.[3]
On September 12, 2005, Oracle Corporation announced it had agreed to buy Siebel Systems for $5.8 billion.[1][4] "Siebel" is now a brand name owned by Oracle Corporation.
Siebel Systems, Inc. began with sales force automation software, then expanded into marketing and customer service applications, including CRM. From the time it was founded in 1993,[2] the company grew quickly.
Benefiting from the explosive growth of the CRM market in the late 1990s, Siebel Systems was named the fastest growing company in the United States in 1999 by Fortune magazine.[citation needed]
Thomas Siebel, Pat House
Siebel's "first experience with sales technology was in the late 1980s, when he worked for Oracle."[2] At the time, Siebel Systems co-founder Patricia House also was working for Oracle. Siebel left Oracle[5] to try his hand at a startup.[2] In 1992 House left Oracle and together they worked on what became Siebel Systems (in 1993).
Key dates
1993: Siebel Systems, Inc. is founded.
1995: Siebel delivers Siebel Sales Enterprise software for sales force automation.
1995: Siebel 2.0 (Release end of 1995)
Siebel Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Siebel Sales Enterprise
1996: Siebel becomes a publicly traded company.
1997: Siebel 3.0 (Release Feb 1997)
1998: Siebel 98
1998: Siebel Systems acquires Scopus Technology, Inc. "for its customer-service and support products."[2]
1999: Siebel 99
2000: Siebel 6 (also known as Siebel 2000)
2000: Revenue surpasses the $1 billion mark.
2001: Siebel 7.0 (Released 2001, was the first web-based version)
