Hello Oracle I have a Primavera Question…

Since the acquisition of Primavera by Oracle in 2008 we have seen first hand the the influence this powerful corporation has had on the once tight-knit Primavera user community.  In case you are not well acquainted with CBA we are a founding PAR (Primavera Authorized Reseller) that pioneered Primavera products introducing them to much of the large install base in the mid-west from their infancy in 1984 through the Oracle acquisition and  beyond, continuing today to provide Oracle Primavera products and associated professional services and training as an Oracle Specialized Gold Partner.  Since 2008 we  have helped our customers handle all the complexities in dealing with a far larger and geographically dispersed organization that is Oracle today.  We find it curious that organizations with which we have long-standing relationships always call Oracle first for Primavera questions.  I’m not talking about support calls here, that is another subject for another day, but routine questions regarding licensing, new product information, training, etc.  I thought it would be illuminating to discuss how those calls are handled by Oracle and how one call to CBA can provide much more information in far less time. 

As I said earlier we are an Oracle Specialized Gold Partner, so we obviously are proud of our relationship with Oracle, but as an independent organization and admittedly small business we operate differently.  When someone has a Primavera question and calls Oracle they are typically  transferred by the call center to the voicemail box of Katie, Lead Distribution Specialist in Houston Texas, Katie then transfers your voicemail to Jeff a Business Development Specialist in Missouri, who may call you to determine what your needs are and specifically if you need any additional licensing.  Now here’s where it gets complicated Oracle has a direct sales staff that handles organizations with over a billion dollars in sales per year and a channel sales staff that is tasked with adding and supporting channel partners like CBA.  Many of the new partners are just that, very new to Primavera.  They may have a history selling other Oracle technologies, or no business history at all, just a desire to set up shop and try their luck at selling project management solutions.  One organization in this category that we know of has gone so far as to buy a canned video testimonial off the internet (yes believe it or not there are sites that do that) with two people right out of central casting with no names and never even mentioning the company, it’s products or services and audaciously place it on the home page of their website (and on YouTube as well).  Ah, the internet what an amazing place!   I bring this up only because the next part of your calls journey once Jeff has determined the potential net worth to Oracle, will either get distributed through Lorraine in Philadelphia, or Angie in Chicago, to CBA or another partner as a lead, or get handled by an Oracle Sales Assistant and eventually to an Oracle Account Executive handling one of the billion dollar plus organizations.  We have received these email leads days after the person orginally placed their call and in some cases has called several times, or has talked to another partner without the expertise to provide the necessary help.  The funny thing is Oracle is only concerned with your software needs, since they discontinued Primavera training from Oracle University last May, so if you have a training or implementation question I’m really not sure where those calls go.  I do know your support questions are usually handled by Raluca out of Romania.

Here is what happens if you call CBA directly (at either 419-874-0800 or toll-free at 800-874-8080).  Most likely if you call us during business hours Linda our office manager will personally take your call.  Linda has been with CBA for over 10 years and has done everything from setting up training classes to ordering manuals to sending out OLSA’s (Oracle License and Support Agreements).  She knows and can navigate Oracle better than anyone I know, even those within Oracle itself.  In many cases your quest for information stops right here with Linda, since she can answer many of your questions on the spot.  If you need further assistance Linda will route your call to either a CBA Account Manager, or one of our certified consultants or trainers.  The great thing about calling CBA first is that our concern isn’t just to sell you software, but as a full-service Oracle Primavera partner we can deliver exceptional training and implementation services that Oracle itself and many other partners can’t provide.   Our goal is to provide an exceptional customer experience from the second you contact us and at every touch point within our organization, whether it is for professional services, training , software, support, or those general questions that seem to take a tour through the Oracle world.  So save yourself a lot of time and effort and get all your Primavera questions answered with one call to CBA.

While many new partners are challenged to even have one person with Primavera knowledge on staff CBA has a deep bench of over 20 Primavera experts working in the field today from Cenovus in the oil sands of Canada to FirstEnergy and DTE in our own backyard and everywhere in between.  CBA consultants, trainers and those on staff augmentation assigments are managing  projects from inception through execution in the most demanding environments.  To demonstrate our deep domain knowledge and expertise CBA is having a live Webinar in June with 10 of our top consultants and trainers leveraging their real-world experience to answer your Primavera questions.  Look for a formal announcement and sign-up instructions coming soon.  Remember with CBA one call does it all (419-874-0800 or toll-free at 800-874-8080).