Bookshelf v7.7: Overview of Siebel Delivers

Siebel Delivers is the interface used to create alerts based on analytics results. If your organization licensed this interface, you can use Siebel Delivers to detect specific results and immediately notify the appropriate person or group through Web, wireless, mobile, and voice communications channels.

This section describes Siebel Delivers, provides information about how it works, and explains how to control access to Siebel Delivers. It contains the following topics:

About Siebel Delivers

Siebel Delivers allows you to create your own unique form of information insurance, where any information-based problem or opportunity can be detected, and the appropriate person immediately notified through the Web or by wireless, mobile, and voice devices. Siebel Delivers uses intelligence agents or Bots, called iBots. iBots are software-based agents driven by schedule or events that can access, filter, and perform analytics on data based upon defined criteria. iBots provide proactive delivery of real-time, personalized and actionable intelligence throughout the business network.

iBots provide intelligence from data spanning operational and analytical sources. The result is information that is timely, complete and in context. Upon detection of a problem or opportunity, iBots can determine the appropriate individuals to notify and deliver information to them through a wide range of devices (such as email, pager, PDA, RIM and US and European mobile phones, and so on). Content and capabilities are automatically optimized for each recipient's device. iBots can also pass information and context to other iBots and applications, allowing automation of multistep, multiperson analytic processes.

Table 23. Definitions of Common Terms in Siebel Delivers
Term	Definition
Alert	An alert is the personalized and actionable content delivered as a result of iBot activities.
Delivery Profile	Your delivery profile specifies which devices to use to deliver content to you, based on the priority of the content. You can define several delivery profiles to meet your needs, and switch among them. Siebel Delivers uses your active delivery profile to determine which devices should receive delivered content.
Device	A device is the medium used to deliver content to you. The content of an iBot can be delivered on a variety of devices, including plain text or HTML email, mobile phone, pager, and PDA.
iBot	An iBot is a software-based intelligent agent used to access, filter and perform analytics on data. iBots may be event-based or scheduled. They provide constant monitoring and intelligence that spans operational and analytic sources. iBots dynamically detect problems and opportunities, determine who to notify, and how to deliver the content.

How Siebel Delivers Works

In the simplest format, a Siebel Delivers iBot automatically performs a specified Web Catalog request (created with Siebel Answers) based on a defined schedule, and examines the results for a specific problem or opportunity. If the specific problem or opportunity is detected in the results, an alert is generated and passed to people who are subscribed to the iBot, using the delivery options specified for each person.

The content of the iBot is tailored for each associated delivery device. For example, content sent to a pager might include only a telephone number, and content sent to a Blackberry device might include an email with more detailed information such as a chart.

You may be automatically subscribed to some iBots, and iBots created by others may be available for you to subscribe to. You can also create your own iBots if you have the appropriate permissions and responsibilities. Depending on the level of authority you have, you can selectively share iBots with others or make iBots available for all users.

You can specify your account information and preferences using the My Account link (available from Siebel Answers, from Siebel Delivers, and from Siebel Intelligence Dashboards). The Delivery Options section shows the devices and delivery profiles configured for use by Siebel Delivers. Siebel Delivers uses your active delivery profile to determine which devices should receive delivered content. You might have an In the Office delivery profile that delivers content to a Web browser and office email, and an On the Road profile that delivers content to your pager or PDA, depending on the priority of the information. You can access the My Account link to switch between available profiles as needed.

To handle more complex requirements, iBots can trigger other iBots, scripts or applications. Results can be passed between iBots, and to other applications or services through XML, HTML, or plain text. For example, an iBot may run a request to identify all current product orders over a specified dollar amount that cannot be filled from a regional warehouse. The results can be passed to another iBot that runs a request to locate alternative sources for these products. A final iBot may be triggered to feed information into a corporate CRM system, and notify the appropriate account representatives of the alternative sourcing.

When Siebel Delivers is enabled, you can add an Alerts section to any dashboard page. An Alerts section is automatically added to the first page of My Dashboard if one is not manually placed there.

Controlling Access to Siebel Delivers

Access to Siebel Delivers is available to all Siebel Analytics users (the Everyone group in Siebel Analytics Administration) by default. Granting access to specific Siebel Delivers functions is performed from the Privilege Administration page in Siebel Analytics Administration. If you have the appropriate authority, you can grant or deny explicit access to a variety of Siebel Delivers privileges, including the ability to perform the following actions:

For more information about the Privilege Administration page, see Siebel Analytics Web Administration Guide.