UK users of helpdesk and systems software from Peregrine are
keeping their fingers crossed following the announcement that the
Californian software company is to shed nearly half of its 2,900
staff.
Users are concerned about the future development and support of the
company's asset management software products following a string of
financial woes in recent months.
The company said the restructuring would have "minimal" impact on
customers, and a UK spokesperson said the company was "completely
committed" to its customer base.
Peregrine is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange
Commission after allegations of fraud were raised by KPMG after it
replaced Arthur Andersen as the company auditor in April.
Saleem Haq, systems administrator at Manchester University, which
uses the Peregrine's Remedy helpdesk software, said, "The immediate
concern is over the future of the Remedy product - about support
for it and over the effect its demise would have on future
development. It is still early days but we are aware of other
suppliers and, if necessary, we will look at their products."
Jim Halliday of the UK Remedy Users Group said UK users were
pinning their hopes on Peregrine's plan to operate the Remedy
product family as an independent unit. "The general consensus among
Remedy users at the Peregrine Systems UK conference 2002 last week
was that this would be a good thing and would be of benefit to the
user community. So, at the moment, there is no concern over the
support offered by Remedy," he said.