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Palm CEO Keynotes DCI CRM Event



Palm Previews New Solutions, Highlights Partners

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2001 -- Highlighting field and general business productivity benefits from its handheld computing solutions, Palm, Inc, a pioneer in the field of mobile and mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, is playing a major role at the eighth annual Customer Relationship Management (CRM) conference and exposition, sponsored by DCI, here at the Jacob K. Javits Center, Aug. 29 and 30. Palm CEO Carl Yankowski is delivering the keynote address, and Palm is featuring current solutions -- and previewing new solutions -- in its booth (No. 921) in the expo hall.

Titled "Handheld Computing: Bold New Platform for 24x7 Competitive Advantage," Yankowski's keynote will address how field service organizations can cut costs using handheld solutions and how Palm devices can help field sales teams increase their productivity and effectiveness. Yankowski will be showcasing current Palm customer applications.

Field Sales and Service and CRM Markets

Field sales -- service organizations of enterprises -- can benefit from handheld applications, and many such solutions are in use today. Studies show that the number of remote workers is increasing, and field sales professionals comprise the largest percentage of that remote–worker population. As competition in all industries increases, businesses are keenly aware that they must empower employees with tools, such as handheld computers, to enhance their business results. Market research firm IDC projects that the number of mobile and remote–workers will grow by a total of 41 percent between 2000 and 2004, from 39 million to 55 million employees.(1)

CRM software sales is one area of software that is showing strong growth. According to Gartner Dataquest, this year's projected growth is a healthy 42 percent. Gartner Dataquest further said that sales of CRM software are expected to reach $25.1 billion this year from $19.9 billion last year, and will grow to $64.3 billion in 2005.

"Palm is delivering on enterprise needs by providing proven and comprehensive mobile field service solutions through its products and its alliances with market leaders across the CRM value chain," said Kevin Burden of IDC. "The immediate and measurable return to the enterprise for mobile field service handheld solutions is compelling -- and often pays for itself within six months."

Featured in Palm Booth, No. 921 –– Palm and its Partners

The Palm advantage for field use stems from Palm(TM) branded solutions as well as from the wide range of solutions in the Palm Economy. Palm Powered(TM) offerings from key market leaders range from hardware options, including handheld devices, smartphones and feature phones, to integration and implementation support, to mobile customer–facing software solutions that provide enterprises a competitive advantage.

The Siebel Sales Handheld for the Palm OS(R) platform will be previewed in the Palm booth. It couples the rich functionality of the Siebel eBusiness solutions with the most robust and widely used handheld platform in the world -- in use today by more than 16 million people. The product will provide instant access to vital information sales professionals need to be responsive to customer needs, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, and ultimately lead to additional sales.

Supporting a rich set of data used in Siebel Sales, the product includes comprehensive sales management capabilities –– including accounts, activities, calendar, contacts, employees, expenses, opportunities, price lists, products and quotes. In addition, customers can leverage their existing Siebel eBusiness Applications' investments because Siebel Handheld applications are configured with Siebel Tools so customers can tailor their unique configuration for the Palm OS platform and deploy Siebel Sales Handheld in a rapid and cost–effective way. Configuration changes are automatically deployed to users every time they synchronise their handhelds.

Palm also will be demonstrating Siebel Wireless, which enables sales and service users to monitor and update opportunity–lead details and order information in real time directly from their wirelessly enabled Palm Powered handheld device. With the Siebel Wireless product, these professionals can order products and services, inquire into order status, update sales opportunities, review account information, access calendar and contact details, order parts, and respond to service requests in real time.

Palm is actively engaged with a number of other partners and is demonstrating applications from Remedy and Oracle in the booth. The Remedy application focuses on mobile field service. Remedy CRM Solutions strengthen customer relationships by automating important sales, marketing, customer support, engineering, and quality-assurance processes. They can work independently or as an integrated suite. Integration enhances collaboration among sales, marketing, support, engineering, and quality-assurance departments by allowing people to share up-to-the-minute information.

Palm is a member of the Oracle Partner Program and is working with Oracle on its Mobile Partner Initiative. The companies plan to deliver go–to–market solutions for customers looking to deploy the mobile–enabled Oracle E–Business Suite on the Palm OS platform. The products will be offered through OracleMobile, the mobile products and services division of Oracle, which offers a comprehensive set of mobile product and services -- from technology and e–business applications to online services and consulting. Application developers and systems integrators can leverage Oracle's wireless products and services to develop a single application that can be rendered on any device, including all Palm Powered devices, regardless of network, protocol and markup language.

About DCI CRM Conference and Exhibit

The DCI CRM conference and exhibition is the premier event where practitioners, experts and industry leaders meet, learn, question and exchange knowledge about next–generation CRM solutions. CRM is the seamless coordination between sales, customer service, marketing, field support and other customer–touching functions. It integrates people, process and technology to maximise relationships with a company's customers and partners: eCustomers, traditional customers, distribution channel members, internal customers and suppliers. # # #

(1) IDC, "U.S. Mobile and Remote Worker Market Forecast and Analysis, 1999-2004," published in 2000.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000). Based on the Palm OS® platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to carry and access their most critical information with them wherever they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals, enterprises and educational institutions through thousands of application solutions.

The Palm OS platform is also the foundation for products from Palm's licensees and strategic partners, such as Franklin Covey, HandEra (formerly TRG), Handspring, IBM, Kyocera, Sony, and Symbol Technologies. Platform licensees also include Acer, Garmin, Nokia and Samsung. The Palm Economy is a growing global community of industry-leading licensees, world-class OEM customers, and more than 160,000 innovative developers and solution providers that have registered to develop solutions based on the Palm OS platform. Palm went public on March 2, 2000. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol PALM. More information is available at www.palm.com

Palm OS is a registered trademark, and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries.





Palm, Palm OS, and Treo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned or licensed to Palm, Inc. Microsoft and Windows Mobile are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.