Oracle defends online sales strategy

Oracle has insisted its latest move, to offer its salesforce automation software free of charge online, will not be a threat to resellers.

Oracle has insisted its latest move, to offer its salesforce automation software free of charge online, will not be a threat to resellers.

The database giant is hoping to grab the lion's share of the market from rival Siebel Systems by announcing plans to give away modules such as calendaring, customer order and sales forecasting on its website, OracleSalesOnline.com.

The new site gives customers access to the core sales applications of the Oracle E-Business Suite 11i. Eventually, the company aims to provide additional services, such as sales compensation, forecasting, expense and travel management, under a pay-as-you-go scheme.

"The model is designed to appeal to all companies that want to avoid price, maintenance and implementation barriers to salesforce automation applications," said Oracle.

Robert Fleming, ebusiness suite and customer relationship marketing director at Oracle, said: "We are doing what Hotmail did for email. We launched the service in June and we have 400 customers already. It will have a big takeup and that can only be a good thing for us."

The move has generated a lot of discussion among rival companies, but it should not be seen as a threat by resellers, said Fleming.

"We see it as a way of stimulating trade for our resellers, because there is the potential that a company may begin with this service and then want to move to an internal-based system."

First published in Computer Reseller News