The Vertex SMB initiative is part of Vertex's Enterprise Architects™ program, designed to provide high-end architecture, consulting and implementation services in various enterprise technologies specifically geared to the SMB market for business with annual revenue of $50 to $500 million.

Vertex is already providing several Fortune 1000 customers in North America with consulting and implementation services for Siebel customers. Through its Vertex SMB initiative, Vertex intends to target companies across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Vertex offers the following services to its customers through its Vertex SMB initiative:

• Business process analysis
• Implementation services
• Reporting (Actuate)
• Analytics and Data Warehouse design and implementation
• Testing services
• Conversion of Actuate reports to Analytics
• Post implementation support
• Upgrade services
• Hosting of the Siebel solution at its data centers
• Financing of the software

The Vertex services will be provided on-site, off-site at its US development centers or off-shore at its India development center. The Vertex team is headed by ex-senior managers and technologists from Siebel Systems and consists of Siebel certified architects and technical resources.

"Siebel welcomes the strength of Vertex in responding to the small and medium-sized business market," said Butch Winters, Vice President and General Manager of Global Alliances for Siebel. "By relying on its onsite, offsite and offshore capabilities, Vertex configures its delivery capabilities to meet customer needs," he added.

Vertex has aligned closely to Siebel Systems' philosophies of customer satisfaction and delivering value to its customers. Vertex believes in exceeding customer expectations and has several offerings in its portfolio. Vertex uses Siebel's proven implementation methodology for delivering projects to its customers using both out-of-the box functionality as well as customizations.

The new service from Vertex allows customers to purchase software and a custom implementation as a service. Earlier, only an ASP model was the only choice a customer had to purchase software as part of its operational budget. With the Vertex SMB initiative, customers can implement custom solutions within their IT intranets, but at the same incur no capital expenditure. This novel approach, coupled with the expertise of leading several Siebel implementations, provides customers with a low risk alternative.