PeopleSoft, the enterprise resource planning software vendor, has
provoked controversy with its launch this week of PeopleSoft 8 CRM.
The company claims its new customer relationship management (CRM)
package is the one of the company's most significant releases to
date.
But analysts are saying that an impressive architecture masks poor
functionality in key areas.
"In terms of architecture I think they have really made a great
step forward, especially compared to other products in that area,"
said Gaby Dobenecker, program director at analyst organisation Meta
Group. "But there is a big lack of support for all mobile users,"
he added.
PeopleSoft said CRM8 is the first CRM solution to run entirely on
the Internet and that users can access the suite from any
browser-enabled device anywhere in the world, without the need to
download any software.
Competitors, including Siebel and Oracle, have rejected the claim
that PeopleSoft is first to market.
"They're playing catch-up," said Oracle director of product
marketing Stephen Millard, who claimed PeopleSoft has taken an easy
option to get its Internet-based product to market.
"They've gone down the simplest route and used HTML, but it won't
provide the support users want," he said. "For intensive internal
employee facing activity, you need Java for the functionality."
Phil Robinson, vice president of marketing at Siebel, said
PeopleSoft lacked sales support, a point shared by Meta's
Dobenecker.
PeopleSoft is unconcerned by the criticism, "This is a very
important announcement," said Charles Grover, director of CRM at
PeopleSoft. "We basically aim to maintain our second position in
the market [with this product]."
The company has spent some $500m (£358m) on research and
development for PeopleSoft 8, and more than 1,500 developers have
worked on the project.
The company integrated code it acquired as a result of it
acquisition of Vantive in 1999 to provide new business analytics
within 8 CRM.
PeopleSoft 8 CRM will be available on general release from June 29.
Emma Nash