Siebel Systems joined the growing list of technology companies that have started to pay a regular dividend to shareholders, marking the struggling software company's latest effort to head off growing investor unrest.

However, the concession did little to appease critics on Wall Street, who have clamoured for the company to return some of its $2.2bn in cash to shareholders. Charles Di Bona, software analyst at Sanford C Bernstein, called the dividend “a very small step”, with the annual pay-out of about $50m representing less than 2 per cent of Siebel's cash reserves.

Siebel also appointed Goldman Sachs as an adviser, though it said the investment bank had been retained to advise on “potential capital structure alternatives” rather than on broader strategic options. Some shareholders have called on Siebel to put itself up for sale.

Oracle, the US software giant, has previously shown interest in the group. Speaking ahead of the group's shareholder meeting on Wednesday, George Shaheen, who took over as chief executive two months ago, said the company had heeded calls for it to do more to lift its stock price, but that “the most impactful way to do that is to improve our operating performance”.

Siebel said it had also appointed management consultants McKinsey to help “evaluate and improve our operating and financial performance”.

In a further move to appease unhappy investors, Siebel announced two new independent directors for its eight-person board.

The company has faced persistent complaints over corporate governance and critics claim the board is not sufficiently independent of founder Tom Siebel, who is chairman and one of the biggest shareholders.

Siebel's initial dividend of 2.5 cents a share in each quarter is equivalent to roughly one-third of its free cashflow last year and will give its shares a dividend yield of 1.1 per cent. That is broadly in line with dividend yields offered by other tech companies, though it is below the general level for US stocks.

Mr Shaheen said Siebel's decision to issue a dividend did not preclude the company from possibly buying back stock in the future. “We will continue to look at our situation, including a share buyback, as appropriate,” he said at the meeting.

But Mr Shaheen noted that Siebel needed to keep cash on hand so that it would have the “financial ability to consider major acquisitions”. The cash was also needed to invest in products and reassure customers of the company's financial stability, he added.

He reiterated Siebel's aim of reaching into new markets to return it to growth while also cutting costs, though he added that the company was still working through its plans and he did not announce any specific actions.