????不久前，我受邀為歐洲工商管理學院（INSEAD）的一個MBA班做了個講座。講話前我問大家，有多少人知道希柏系統(tǒng)軟件有限公司（Siebel Systems，以下簡稱希柏系統(tǒng)或希柏）。我是這家公司創(chuàng)始高管團隊的一員，在那兒效力了十年。

????結果全班只有約三分之一的人舉了手。迄今為止，甲骨文公司（Oracle）收購希柏已經(jīng)七年了。正是希柏開創(chuàng)了客戶關系管理（CRM）業(yè)務，現(xiàn)在這個行業(yè)卻被Salesforce公司（Salesforce）一統(tǒng)天下。2006年甲骨文收購這家公司時，我是產品部門的負責人。

????甲骨文收購希柏半年后，我就去了InterWest Partners投資公司，轉行當了專業(yè)投資人。也就是從那時起，先后有幾十個創(chuàng)業(yè)者來我們辦公室展示他們全新的軟件創(chuàng)業(yè)理念。這種提案的主題往往是這樣的：“我們要顛覆（此處可以填入你最熟悉的科技巨頭），就像當年Salesforce顛覆希柏系統(tǒng)一樣。”

????這種說法隱含的基本前提是，Salesforce憑借自己革命性的“軟件即服務”（SaaS）商業(yè)模式迅速打敗了希柏，奪取了大量的市場份額，結果希柏到了2005年只好被迫賣給甲骨文。“大衛(wèi)打敗了歌利亞”（David defeats Goliath，《圣經(jīng)》典故，以弱勝強的典型——譯注）這個眾所周知的故事看來在高科技產業(yè)里又重演了。

????這聽起來是個很不錯的故事，但它也就僅限于這點皮毛了。實際情況根本不是這么回事。

????希柏系統(tǒng)是湯姆?希柏和帕特?豪斯1993年創(chuàng)立的。短短五年間，這個公司就從一個籍籍無名的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)成長為年銷售額近20億美元的行業(yè)巨頭，員工人數(shù)達到8,000人，市值高達300億美元，儼然已是CRM市場的領軍企業(yè)。1999年，希柏系統(tǒng)被德勤公司（Deloitte）評為美國歷史上“增長最快的公司”，五年間增長率高達782,978%。

????但到了2002年，這家公司的銷售額卻開始止步不前，股價則從歷史高位一路狂跌不止，隨后到了2005年9月12日，甲骨文就最終簽署協(xié)議收購了該公司。這項交易的估價是60多億美元。2006年3月1日，希柏系統(tǒng)就不再作為獨立實體存在了，對于一個一度似乎堅不可摧的公司來說，這個結局可真不怎么光彩。

????希柏最初是靠開發(fā)企業(yè)銷售軟件起家的。這些應用一開始也確實推動了希柏走上快速發(fā)展的軌道。但是希柏還開發(fā)了呼叫中心技術。1998年，希柏做了一個重大決策，收購了斯高帕斯技術公司（Scopus Technology）——這是一家在呼叫中心市場規(guī)模和希柏相當?shù)钠髽I(yè)。這筆收購讓希柏的收入結構發(fā)生了劇變，直接推動它進入了高速增長的軌道。

????接下來的三年中，希柏收入增長中的很大一部分都來自全球多家根據(jù)希柏呼叫中心應用方案改造的定制化呼叫中心。實際上，希柏公司處于銷售頂峰的那幾年中，它的呼叫中心產品線對公司總營收的貢獻高達70%。

????Not too long ago, I was asked to speak to a class of MBA students at INSEAD. Before I began my presentation, I asked the students how many were familiar with Siebel Systems, where I had spent 10 years as one of the members of the founding senior executive team.

????Only about a third of the class raised their hands. Seven years had passed since Oracle acquired Siebel, which created the customer relationship management (CRM) business, now dominated by Salesforce (CRM). I was the head of Siebel's products division when it was acquired by Oracle (ORCL) in 2006.

????Six months after Siebel was acquired by Oracle, I joined InterWest Partners as an investor. And, since that time, dozens of entrepreneurs have passed through our offices to present their new software business ideas. The theme of the presentation typically goes something like this: "We are going to do unto [fill in your favorite large incumbent tech company] as Salesforce did unto Siebel Systems."

????The basic premise is that Salesforce summarily dismantled Siebel through its revolutionary software as a service (SaaS) business model and took so much market share away that by 2005 Siebel was forced to sell to Oracle. The proverbial story of "David defeats Goliath" played out in the high tech industry.

????It sounds like a nice tale, but it's little more than that. The facts are quite different.

????Siebel Systems was founded in 1993 by Tom Siebel and Pat House. Within five years, the company went from little-known startup to a nearly $2 billion a year powerhouse, with 8,000 employees and a market cap of $30 billion. It was the leader of the CRM market. In 1999, Siebel Systems was recognized by Deloitte as the "Fastest Growing Company" in U.S. history, with 782,978% growth over five years.

????By 2002, the company's top line had stalled, the stock had fallen to a fraction of its former stratospheric level, and on Sept. 12, 2005, Oracle signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company. The transaction was valued at a little more than $6 billion. On March 1, 2006, Siebel Systems no longer existed as an independent entity, a rather inglorious end to a once unassailable company.

????Siebel started out developing enterprise sales software. And, these applications were responsible for Siebel's initial growth. However, Siebel also had developed call center technology. In 1998, Siebel made a key decision to acquire Scopus Technology -- a company in the call center market that was nearly as large as Siebel. That decision dramatically changed Siebel's revenue mix and propelled the company into hyper growth.

????Over the next three years, a significant amount of Siebel's revenue growth was due to the rapid conversion of the world's custom-built call centers to Siebel's call center applications. In fact, the Siebel call center product line was responsible for 70% of Siebel's revenues during the company's peak sales years.