Published on 03-Nov-2011
"The ease of data being available in the tool of their choice, either Salesforce.com or Siebel, is the best kind of comfort factor that people using it can have with this integration." - Shail Burman, worldwide technical director, Cast Iron professional services, IBM
Customer:
IBM
Industry:
Computer Services
Deployment country:
United States
Solution:
Cloud Computing, SmartCloud - Foundation
Overview
A global computer products, services and solutions company based in the United States, IBM operates in more than 170 countries and has nearly 427,000 employees. With thousands of business partners and computer products suppliers worldwide, IBM generates more than USD99 billion in annual revenue. The company was founded in 1911 in Endicott, New York.
Business need:
After acquiring Cast Iron Systems, IBM needed an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) solution for its Cast Iron Systems and IBM teams.
Solution:
IBM used its own best-of-breed solution, IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron Cloud integration, to create a bi-directional integration between salesforce.com and Siebel.
Benefits:
The integration gives management visibility into both systems while reducing training and software licensing costs.
Case Study
A global computer products, services and solutions company based in the United States, IBM operates in more than 170 countries and has nearly 427,000 employees. With thousands of business partners and computer products suppliers worldwide, IBM generates more than USD99 billion in annual revenue. The company was founded in 1911 in Endicott, New York.
Challenge
After acquiring Cast Iron Systems, a provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud application integration solutions headquartered in Mountain View, CA, IBM needed to merge the Cast Iron systems with its own. Specifically, it was essential to have a combined customer relationship management (CRM) solution for the two entities so sales people could access a complete “opportunity-to-order” lifecycle and so management could have visibility across both sales teams. However, Cast Iron Systems had been relying on salesforce.com for its system of record for sales representatives, while IBM was using Siebel. The two groups needed to find a way to integrate their two CRM systems to help avoid having to train either of the groups on a new CRM application.
Solution
IBM used its own best-of-breed solution, IBM WebSphere® Cast Iron Cloud integration, to create a bi-directional integration between salesforce.com and Siebel that continuously moves data back and forth between the two systems so they’re synchronized almost instantaneously. Sales people can therefore log into the system of their choice and gain a real-time view of the sales pipeline, increasing the accuracy of order processing and minimizing duplicated efforts. The integration also enables management to have access to consolidated information for reporting. IBM anticipates that this solution will be extremely helpful in the future when making additional acquisitions.
Benefits
• Enables staff to continue using the application they’re most familiar with, helping to maintain optimum productivity after the acquisition and minimize training costs
• Ensures quality of information in both systems, eliminating duplicate entries and out-of-date records
• Eliminates the need to purchase additional salesforce.com licenses, cutting costs
For more information
To learn more about IBM WebSphere Cast Iron Cloud integration, contact your IBM sales representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit:
ibm.com/castiron
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2011 IBM Corporation Software Group Route 100 Somers, NY 10589 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America November 2011 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and WebSphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software. This case study illustrates how one IBM customer uses IBM products. There is no guarantee of comparable results. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.