from DSSResources.comOracle's latest partner management application to help organizations connect more closely with partners and drive growthREDWOOD SHORES, Calif., June 23, 2004 -- To help customers better utilize third-party distribution channels to expand market reach, Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) today announced the latest version of Oracle(R) Partner Management. As companies seek to increase revenues and improve customer satisfaction, the enhanced application focuses on extending marketing and sales processes through channel partners. The latest updates to Oracle Partner Management focus on helping businesses around the world connect more closely with partners, attain greater channel intelligence and improve channel efficiencies. "Strengthening and expanding channel partnerships and accelerating sales growth are critical to Zebra's business strategy," said Sharon Getz, IT director, Zebra Technologies. "Oracle Partner Management will offer us a simple way to effectively engage and support our distribution channel and will enable us to make strategic, well informed decisions through the single, comprehensive partner view within Oracle Partner Management." Better Channel Intelligence One common challenge of organizations that leverage partner channels is an inability to gain accurate business intelligence about partner performance. Oracle Partner Management now includes a Channel Manager Dashboard, which provides partner managers a complete, personalized view of partner relationships enabling them to make better decisions. Comprehensive key performance indicators display important metrics such as total sales year-to-date, opportunity close rates, available and committed funds and open claims to help channel managers proactively identify channel trends. Additionally, channel managers can configure their own key performance metrics, using information from other Oracle or third-party applications. Key performance indicators are also integrated into partner processes, such as evaluating partner performance, assigning opportunities or determining program qualification, and helping companies optimize their partner channel. Connect Partners to the Virtual Enterprise Partner relationships have become increasingly complex and as companies seek profitable growth, indirect channels are more important than ever. To help companies better integrate partners into their business, Oracle has deepened the integration between Oracle Partner Management and other applications in the Oracle E-Business Suite, including Oracle Financials, Oracle Marketing, Oracle Order Management and Oracle Sales. This integration helps companies ensure safe, conservative accounting, legal compliance and accurate compensation across partner business flows, such as special pricing, partner funds management and referral management. Oracle Partner Management also now supports multi-tier distribution networks. Partners have the ability to invite their own network of partners and distributors to join partner programs, giving companies better visibility into their extended partner communities. Improved Channel Efficiency Oracle Partner Management has also been enhanced to greatly improve partner productivity. A new Partner Dashboard provides partners a configurable portal with self-service access to all partner benefits and services. Additionally, partner processes have been streamlined. For example, Oracle Partner Management now provides an easy way for partners to enroll or renew their memberships into multiple programs at once. Tighter integration to the back-office applications also allows companies using Oracle Partner Management to be more efficient by streamlining partner activities such as: -- Lead referral to help increase market reach; -- Deal registration to help avoid channel conflict and gain visibility into the indirect pipeline; -- Partner funds management to help align channel marketing expenditures with strategic business goals; and -- Special pricing to help drive sales. Oracle Partner Management Helps Drive Bottom Line Results "Partner relationship management applications are the fastest and most effective way for many companies to realize the incremental revenue that indirect sales channels provide," said John Wookey, senior vice president of applications development at Oracle Corporation. "With this release of Oracle Partner Management, Oracle is giving companies more insight into how to make partner channels successful, improved partner planning capabilities and better tools to manage the execution of these programs. These combine to help organizations reach mutual business success with their partners." The next release of Oracle Partner Management is scheduled for availability by the end of summer 2004. About Oracle Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com. Trademarks Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective company. SOURCE Oracle Corp. Web Site: http://www.oracle.com Oracle Corporation Redwood Shores, CA USA |