Microsoft: Siebel Sales Force Transformation

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Accenture worked with Microsoft to enhance sales and service at Microsoft. Through a Siebel implementation, they were able to cut costs and increase efficiency for Microsoft’s global sales force of 10,000.

Because sales are the driving force behind the company’s success, Microsoft needed to improve its ability to create, track and pursue sales opportunities. Microsoft selected Siebel Systems’ Siebel 2000 v6 Call Center, Sales Enterprise and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) applications to serve as the core components of a new integrated system.

Based on a 10-year relationship, Accenture had a solid understanding of Microsoft’s operations, its culture and its global sales strategies. Accenture brought deep Siebel-specific skills. After a successful pilot in Germany, a series of Siebel Systems’ Call Center application releases were phased across other geographies over two years. The solution was based on the Microsoft platform consisting of Windows XP and SQL Server 2000. Accenture updated Microsoft’s existing Siebel Sales Enterprise application (to Version 6.0) and integrated it with the new Call Center application with a new innovation. Customer data could now be defined using “local attributes” designated to regions or customers. Accenture teamed with Microsoft and Siebel to implement the Siebel PRM application.

One of the most innovative aspects of this project was managing complex solutions across multiple geographies for thousands of users. The Siebel implementation enables Microsoft to:

• Store all customer data centrally.
• Build an infrastructure that supports global customer relationship management efforts.
• Create, share and manage sales opportunities in multiple languages.
• Standardize global business processes for Microsoft sales and support teams.
• Quickly launch—and track the effectiveness of—sales campaigns for enterprise customers.

Today, more than 8,000 Microsoft sales representatives, 1,000 call center staff and 1,000 business partners can easily share and access critical data, globally, enabling improved sales effectiveness, customer support and partner interaction. This Siebel implementation lays the groundwork for future customer relationship management (CRM) projects at Microsoft. Accenture continues to team with the software giant, managing more than 12 CRM solutions.