Siebel Systems, Inc. was a software company principally engaged in the design, development, marketing, and support of CRM applications. The company was founded by Thomas Siebel in 1993. At first known mainly for its sales force automation products, the company expanded into the broader CRM market. By the late 1990s, Siebel Systems was the dominant CRM vendor, peaking at 45% market share in 2002.[2] On September 12, 2005, Oracle Corporation announced it had agreed to buy Siebel Systems for $5.8 billion.[3][4] Siebel is now a brand name owned by Oracle Corporation. Siebel Systems, Inc. began in sales force automation software, then expanded into marketing and customer service applications, including customer relationship management (CRM). From the time it was founded in 1993, the company grew quickly. Benefiting from the explosive growth of the CRM market in the late 1990s, Siebel Systems was named the fastest growing company in the United States in 1999 by Fortune magazine. With the growth of electronic commerce, Siebel formed strategic alliances and made several acquisitions to provide e-business solutions for CRM and related areas. One secret to Siebel's success has been its ability to form alliances; as of late 2000 the company had more than 700 alliance partners. Revenue for 2000 was expected to surpass the $1 billion mark.