Both Avaya and its parent company have strategic alliances with Siebel. Avaya's close relationship with Siebel should pay off for customers, says Mike Martinez, executive director of CRM solutions marketing at Avaya. We also have a wide alliance with other vendors that provide CRM strategies and products, particularly through the CRM Solutions Lab. Nortel also is vying for top spot in the CRM call-center market. Nortel and Clarify have cemented deals with Intel, Microsoft, and SAP, aiming for an unprecedented level of interoperability with business apps.
Customers have a natural interest in getting all that from one source.
Oracle, another emerging CRM call-center player, also is selling a combined suite with mobile capabilities. Oracle 11i customer Nantucket Nectars in Cambridge, Mass., says the product will help it achieve E-business goals. Oracle also has packaged middleware solutions that link its product with major telephony packages. Some customers have been worried about Oracle's networking knowledge, but a CRM call-center alliance with Cisco unveiled in July may change that perception.