Oracle's £5.5bn takeover of rival ERP supplier PeopleSoft
at the end of last year will affect the future IT strategy of
thousands of PeopleSoft and former JD Edwards users across the
UK.
Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison made plain his commitment to
PeopleSoft and JD Edwards users when the takeover was announced,
but analysts are warning users to monitor developments closely.
"We intend to enhance PeopleSoft 8 and develop a PeopleSoft 9 and
enhance JD Edwards 5 and develop a JD Edwards 6. We intend to
immediately extend and improve support for existing JD Edwards and
PeopleSoft customers worldwide," Ellison said.
AMR analysts Jim Shepherd and Bill Swanton said Oracle was buying
PeopleSoft for its customer base. "It is interested in keeping
those customers happy. Those PeopleSoft customers that reach out to
Oracle, build a relationship and agree to act as references will
undoubtedly get attention, and they may receive some considerations
concerning contract terms or pricing," the analysts said.
The analysts expect the widely used PeopleSoft HR system to be
supported and enhanced for at least 10 years. However, users may
not be able to purchase licensing under the same terms and
conditions that applied to an independent PeopleSoft.
"We believe that in future Oracle will try to simplify and
rationalise the licensing and mainten- ance schemes. We do not
expect Oracle to try to force existing PeopleSoft customers to
re-license, but it may not continue to offer revenue-based pricing
on subsequent purchases," said Shepherd and Swanton.
Analyst firm Gartner has raised concerns that despite Oracle's
pledge to support and develop the PeopleSoft product family, there
may be fundamental changes in strategy under the new owner.
In September, PeopleSoft announced it would be working with IBM to
jointly develop software packages aimed at customers in financial
services, telecommunication and insurance based on IBM's Websphere
middleware platform. However, this is unlikely to go ahead,
according to Gartner analyst Jeff Comport.
Gartner also urged former JD Edwards users considering an upgrade
not to commit to any large projects until Oracle reveals its
long-term strategy for the PeopleSoft Enterpriseone product
line.
Many questions remain and the finer details of the buy-out are
unlikely to be made available to users until after it has
completed.
What is apparent is that the UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG) is keen
to get involved. Chairman Ronan Miles said, "The UKOUG is lucky in
that one of its special interest group chairs is also significant
in the PeopleSoft user community.
"We will be meeting with some of their representatives in early
February to start the discussion on how the user communities in the
UK should react to the Oracle acquisition."