IDEA Cellular Selects Oracle's Siebel CRM to Deliver Enhanced Service to Pre- and Post-Paid Customers
Application Will Support Operator's Expanding Customer Base
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 11 - MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS - Oracle today announced that IDEA Cellular Limited, a leading mobile operator in India and a part of the Aditya Birla Group, has selected Oracle's Siebel CRM to deliver a unique customer service experience to pre- and post-paid mobile subscribers across its entire operations in India. IDEA's strategic outsourcing partner, IBM, will undertake the implementation, which on completion is expected to address challenges arising from IDEA's extensive channel and dealer network and meet its fast-expanding customer base.
IDEA is focused on enhancing the customer experience and service delivery, and plans to increase its customer base rapidly over the next three years from its existing 22 million subscribers. The operator currently provides mobile services in 11 areas with plans to expand into two new areas - Mumbai and Bihar. With the help of its IT infrastructure outsource partner, IBM, IDEA will adopt an enterprise-wide CRM system spanning all lines of business in India. A sign of convergence, this is the first time a communications company in India will use a single CRM solution to provide customer service to both its pre- and post-paid customers.
IDEA chose Siebel CRM over competing applications for several reasons including the extensive out-of-the-box communications-specific functionalities, coupled with Oracle's superior architecture, flexibility and scalability.
"IDEA has been on the forefront of adapting cutting-edge technology to exceed customer service expectations. In doing so, we have adopted a collaborative approach to partner with the best-in-class application technologies available to streamline and enhance our business processes. I am confident that all IDEA customers will benefit significantly from our selection of Oracle's Siebel CRM, and our decisions to converge pre- and post-paid care, a first in the Indian communications industry," said Prakash Paranjape, chief information officer, IDEA.
"IDEA's selection of Oracle is a testament to our CRM market leadership in the communications industry in India and around the world," said David Sharpley, vice president, product marketing and channels, Oracle Communications. "With Siebel CRM, IDEA will have the ability to provide a single customer experience, rapidly introduce new products and efficiently manage sales campaigns. Oracle is pleased to work with IDEA and IBM to fully enable IDEA to capitalize on the high-growth India mobile market."
"IBM's global leadership in telecom solutions has led to innovative partnerships with leading telecom service providers in competitive markets, helping them develop comprehensive solutions to drive new revenues while maintaining focus on operational efficiencies. It gives me immense pleasure that today's announcement allows us to further strengthen our existing partnership with IDEA Cellular to capitalize on a proven alliance and time-tested solutions," said Amit Sachdeva, partner, Communications Sector, IBM India/South Asia.
IDEA will implement several modules from Oracle's Siebel CRM including Siebel Loyalty, Siebel Marketing, Siebel Service and Siebel Partner Management. The applications will enable seamless integration of the operator's mission-critical business and customer interface with the growing third party dealer systems. By providing a single, real-time, accurate view of customer information and sharing customer data across all channels and customer facing departments (sales, service, call center, marketing, etc), the solution will enable IDEA to streamline operations, deliver more personalized, efficient customer care and aggressively acquire and retain customers across the operator's various operations.
As a leading GSM Mobile Services operator in India, IDEA Cellular has operations in Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, HP, and Kerala -- with plans to expand service to Mumbai and Bihar. IDEA Cellular's footprint currently covers an estimated 60 percent of India's telecommunications market. IDEA is the only operator in the world to launch Pay Easy, a bill payment system through the effective use of the pre-paid channel. With general packet radio service (GPRS) currently available on all its networks, for both pre- and post-paid customers, IDEA Cellular was the first company to commercially launch next generation EDGE technology for its Delhi circle. For the second year in a row, IDEA won the 2007 GSM Association Award for Best Billing or Customer Care Solution.
About Oracle Communications
Oracle is #1 in Communications globally with 20 of the world's top 20 telecommunications companies running Oracle applications. Oracle Communications integrates industry-specific BSS and OSS solutions with the capabilities of Oracle's industry-leading enterprise applications, business intelligence tools, and carrier-grade middleware and database technologies. Oracle Communications enables service providers to deliver next generation convergent services rapidly, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and reduce costs in the business and the network. For more information, visit http://www.oracle.com/industries/communications
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FCMN Contact: caroline.yu@oracle.com
Source: Oracle Corporation
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