The effort should lead to cheaper, better connectivity, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says. Tighter links between Microsoft's Office apps and Siebel Smart Client and eBusiness software are planned.
Siebel last week also disclosed a renewed relationship with Sun Microsystems, backers of a competing technology, Java 2 Enterprise Edition. Scott Anderson, a global alliance director for Sun, says about 10 Sun and Siebel engineers are working together on product development, marketing, and sales.