2007-05-23 13:04:42 -
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Callidus Software Inc. , the leader in Sales Performance Management (SPM), today announced it has surpassed the mark of 1 million payees -- agents, brokers, financial advisers and producers -- in the financial services market using its industry-leading SPM software solutions. A global roster of customers, increased use in the insurance and financial services market, and a positive rating by leading analyst firm Gartner has advanced Callidus' presence with its SPM offerings to the forefront of the financial services industry.
In the North American banking industry, four of the six largest banks are customers of Callidus Software(1).
"Callidus' goal is to help our insurance and financial services customers use advanced on-premise and on-demand sales performance management solutions to stay at the top of their industry in an extremely competitive marketplace," said Robert Youngjohns, president and CEO at Callidus Software. "We have been working with the financial services industry to provide best-in-class SPM and enterprise incentive management solutions for more than a decade and we understand the intricacies faced by these companies from complex sales compensation systems to specific regulatory requirements. As these industries continue to trend towards more integration and collaboration, it remains critical for them to align compensation systems with evolving business objectives in order to drive revenue and increase shareholder value."
With its existing set of software products, Callidus generated record revenues over the past year and the management team continues to be optimistic about the opportunities in this growing market. At ACORD LOMA this week, Callidus launched TrueProducer(TM), the first producer and distribution management software solution specifically designed for the insurance industry. The new product provides optimal distribution management, helps producers do business with carriers and supports agent retention. When this product becomes generally available in June, Callidus believes it can be a catalyst for even further growth.
Sales Performance Challenges for Financial Services and Insurance Markets Today's financial services and Insurance carriers are turning to Callidus' market leading solutions to address three distinct challenges when it comes to improving sales performance:
1. Need to achieve greater sales growth -- In a highly competitive
environment, financial services companies strive to improve their
corporate performance and achieve greater sales growth services and
increase market share. Callidus' best-of-breed solutions enable
insurance companies to better service their producers and use
compensation strategically to improve time-to-market for new products,
and improve sales performance.
2. Distribution management and producer administration -- Poor sales
performance and compensation disputes lead to increased agent and
broker dissatisfaction which dilutes profitability. Producers need to
be managed efficiently and serviced quickly to improve motivation and
optimize their productivity. Callidus Software's integrated
TrueComp(R) Manager, TrueResolution(R) and TrueProducer(TM) software
modules are working together to simplify on-boarding, and help provide
better service to the producers, improving agent retention, reducing
training costs and lowering broker turnover.
3. Governance, compliance and regulatory issues -- Under Sarbanes Oxley
and other compliance regulations, financial services and insurance
companies must improve their governance and risk management processes
as applied to their agents and brokers. Homegrown compensation
solutions are ineffective, cumbersome and inadequate at producing and
tracking this data, particularly for a large number of payees.
Callidus' TrueProducer(TM) software solution automates this process,
cleans the data and provides a single repository of data in the
TrueComp(R) Datamart, allowing for comprehensive and accurate
reporting.
Financial Services and Insurance Industry Achievements
In December 2006, Gartner gave Callidus Software a 'positive' rating in its "MarketScope for North American Insurance Incentive Compensation Management Applications" report.(2)
According to the Gartner report, "Life insurers struggle with the complex array of products, channels and compensation arrangements associated with those products and channels ... Profitability concerns, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulatory requirements will force life insurers to manage distributor compensation more actively, because this is their single-largest controllable expense. To address their compensation management challenges in cost-effective ways, Gartner expects life insurers to begin actively reviewing outsourcing and software as a service (SaaS) types of alternatives for compensation management in 2007."
About Callidus TrueProducer(TM)
Earlier this week, Callidus announced TrueProducer, a software solution custom-built for the Insurance sector. Callidus TrueProducer software is engineered for large and mid-size insurance carriers with large independent distribution channels or large numbers of captive agents that want to streamline their producer administration to have one location to view and update producer information. TrueProducer gives users a 360-degree view of every detail of every producer in the enterprise. Key elements include producer demographics, licenses, appointments, continuing education, contracts, and payment schedules. TrueProducer is offered both on-demand and on-premise and is easy to deploy across the entire company. It provides seamless integration with other Callidus applications, including access to compensation, dispute resolution, analytics, and reporting.
Callidus SPM solutions for Insurance and Banking drive ROI
Callidus helps global insurance and financial services companies to continually align the complex and ever changing sales compensation and incentive data with bottom line business goals and objectives. The company offers sales performance management solutions, a critical piece of any insurance and financial service company's business strategy because it supports ease of doing business for the distribution channels, speeds time-to-market for new and innovative products and ensures a considerable return on incentive spend.
About Callidus Software(R)
Callidus Software (http://www.callidussoftware.com/, Nasdaq: CALD) is a leading provider of on-premise and on-demand Sales Performance Management (SPM) solutions to global companies across multiple industries. Callidus' products allow enterprises to strategically manage incentive compensation, establish quota targets, and align territories, resulting in improved sales and distribution performance. Customers/Partners include 7-Eleven, Accenture, CUNA Mutual, HP, IBM, Philips Medical Systems, Sun Microsystems and Wachovia.
MarketScope Disclaimer
The MarketScope is copyrighted December, 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
(C) 2007 Callidus Software Inc. All rights reserved. Callidus Software, the Callidus Software logo, Callidus TrueAnalytics, Callidus TrueProducer, TrueChannel, TrueComp, TrueComp Datamart, TrueFoundation, TrueQuota, TrueComp Grid, TrueComp Manager, TrueInformation, TrueIntegration, TruePerformance, TrueReferral, TrueResolution, TrueService and TrueSupport are trademarks of Callidus Software Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brand, service or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or owners.
Note on Forward-Looking Statements
The forward looking statements included in this press release, including the ability of TrueComp(R) Manager, TrueResolution(R) and TrueProducer(TM) software modules to significantly cut project timelines, save cost compared with on-premise solutions and reduce IT infrastructure complexity and that the solution is always on and always upgraded, reflect management's best judgment based on factors currently known and involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, timing and size of software license orders, management's ability to successfully implement its business plan, changes in executive management, potential material fluctuations in financial results and future growth rates, decreases in customer spending, increased competition or new entrants in the marketplace, litigation and other risks detailed in Callidus' reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Callidus Software's Investor Relations department at 408-808-6577, or from the Investor Relations section of Callidus Software's website (http://www.callidussoftware.com/). Actual results may differ materially from those presently reported. We assume no obligation to update the information contained in this release.
(1) Fortune 500 annual ranking of America's largest corporations 2007: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/industries/Commercial_B anks/1.html
(2) Gartner, Inc., "MarketScope for North American Insurance Incentive Compensation Management Applications, 2006," by Todd Eyler, December 14, 2006.
Source: Callidus Software Inc.
