At the same time, Oracle is running the risk that some Siebel customers will turn to other vendors as it works on an integration plan.
"A number of customers are in a wait-and-see mode," said Rob Bois, an analyst at Boston-based AMR Research Inc. "They're evaluating potential alternatives" just in case Oracle moves in a direction they don't like.
On the other hand, noted Bois, replacing Siebel wouldn't be an easy task because many users have heavily customized the software. Any migration to a new supplier could take years, he said.
"Obviously, there is risk [that users will flee] with any acquisition like this," said Marc Hebert, executive vice president of Fremont, Calif.-based Sierra Atlantic Inc. and a user of Siebel CRM OnDemand and Oracle Financials software.
Oracle must undertake the same type of outreach done with the earlier PeopleSoft acquisition to avoid losing customers, he said.