BOSTON, MA, March 10, 2003 - Extraprise®, the internationally recognized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) consulting firm, today announced that one of its clients, Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) has received a Siebel Systems (NASDAQ: SEBL) Pioneer Award. The award recognizes innovative application of Siebel technology. Itron received the award for its "my.Itron" portal, an implementation of Siebel's employee relationship management (ERM) software implemented in collaboration with Extraprise.
My.Itron is a conduit of knowledge that enriches the daily work experience of each of the company's employees. Through sharing internal and industry information, the site strengthens the company's strategic vision, enhances employee potential and supports corporate values and cultural beliefs. The vision for the portal is to create a "community of knowledge" that unites and aligns employees throughout Itron's diverse national and international sites.
My.Itron relies on the contribution and support of the company's employees. It is produced by a team of editors, writers, graphics and Web producers, who support a company-wide network of "News Correspondents" and Executive Team Sponsors who represent each department in the company.
Itron Inc. is the leading global solutions provider for collecting, analyzing and applying electric, gas and water usage data. More than 2,900 utilities worldwide rely on Itron technology to deliver the knowledge they require to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Itron provides industry-leading solutions in areas such as meter data collection, energy information management, demand side management and response, load forecasting, analysis and consulting services. "With four acquisitions having occurred in the past 12 calendar months, we needed to quickly implement a collaborative communication process and employee performance-enriching product to tie our growing organization together around our brand 'knowledge to shape your future,'" said Steve Paul, Manager of Technical Services at Itron.
"Extraprise's previous efforts in successfully driving our CRM implementations made them a logical partner in this new effort," said Paul. "Together with Siebel, we have championed a new day in corporate communications and employee relationships over the past nine months - building Itron a strong and strategic advantage over any competitor by enabling direct employee-to-employee knowledge sharing, immediately dispersing corporate information and enforcing a servicing internal culture. Extraprise's leadership in this effort has been a key component to our success in this endeavor."
As a result of successes like Itron, Extraprise recently earned Siebel's Gold Star Distinction for the third year in a row. Each quarter, Siebel uses an independent third party to audit customers to determine how well Siebel and its partners are delivering Siebel eBusiness Applications. The select group of global consulting partners that earn the highest levels of customer satisfaction are granted the Gold Star Certification. Itron was one of the Extraprise clients audited in this survey.
Extraprise recently achieved another milestone, becoming a Siebel Strategic Consulting Partner. This category is reserved for large consulting firms that provide integration services with broad industry knowledge and detailed business reengineering, implementation, and configuration services on a worldwide basis. Extraprise has the largest number of Siebel Certified consultants in the category.
Extraprise® is a leading systems integrator and business process outsourcer specializing in customer management. The company's "Insight-to-Interaction" (or "i2i") solutions combine data management, business insight, demand generation, and customer management. Clients use Extraprise services to make their customer insights actionable throughout their marketing, sales, and service channels. Solutions are available on premise and as on demand services at the company's hosting centers. Extraprise is headquartered in Boston with offices in the U.S. and Europe. Extraprise is on the Web at www.extraprise.com.
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