Oracle and ATG Combine CRM, Retail, Supply Chain and ERP
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) completed its $1 billion acquisition of e-commerce software vendor ATG this week and outlined ambitious plans to merge CRM, ERP, retail applications and supply chain management.
Thomas Kurian, Oracle’s executive vice president for product development, said on a webcast yesterday that the merger is being driven by the need for companies to interact with customers across more channels, such as in stores, online, and through call centers, mobile devices and social media.
The combination of CRM and retail combines the $15.7 billion CRM market, the $8.3 billion retail applications market and the $4.2 billion e-commerce software market, Kurian said.
But for retailers, even more is at stake, he said, citing lost sales of $338 billion due to customer defection and abandoned purchases. By combining retail applications and customer data, companies can offer consistent customer service across all channels, improve live help and recommend products to customers, he said.
The combination also offers retailers unified marketing, merchandising, order management and supply chain management, he said.
Oracle also plans to add business intelligence to its e-commerce suite and will integrate the solutions with other Oracle applications and the new Fusion middleware platform.
Ray Wang, principal analyst and CEO of Constellation Research, said e-commerce “sits at the gateway for social CRM, mobile, and cloud. Companies now realize the need to consolidate multi-channel efforts onto common platforms. ATG gives Oracle one of the leading e-commerce platforms.”
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Paul Ferrill has been writing for over 15 years about computers and network technology. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering as well as a MS in Electrical Engineering. He is a regular contributor to the computer trade press. He has a specialization in complex data analysis and storage. He has written hundreds of articles and two books for various outlets over the years. His articles have appeared in Enterprise Apps Today and InfoWorld, Network World, PC Magazine, Forbes, and many other publications.