Companies such as Citibank, looking for good software to manage their relationships with customers, are caught in a dilemma: to customize or not to customize?
So, what’s a company to do?
At Citibank’s Global Corporate and Investment Bank’s e-business unit, which serves midsize and Fortune 2000 corporations, the answer was: curb the customization urge.
Susan Andros, vice president of Citibank e-business, managed to hold customization to 5% of the Siebel code implemented in her division. The result: The e-business unit completed the fastest and most economical Siebel deployment of all of Citibank’s divisions, according to Andros. At the same time, the e-business unit still produced more detailed and accurate sales reports and forecasts, using standard Siebel e-finance modules, Andros says.
Citibank is banking on the benefits. Andros has committed to the following:
And that’s before the Web-enabled Siebel 7 arrives, which Andros plans to have in use in her division by June 16.