PeopleSoft may be gone in body, but companies who still run its
software are finding online support groups a godsend.
Hundreds of Web sites, bulletin boards and mail lists have continued
to survive and thrive even though it’s been more than a month since
Oracle finalized its acquisition of PeopleSoft.
To date, there are 179 PeopleSoft user groups listed
on Google with 39 PeopleSoft mail groups in operation. A search of Yahoo
finds 251 PeopleSoft user groups listed with 333 PeopleSoft mail groups
still around.
Hot issues that remain from the merger continue to center on layoffs,
the culture clash between the two companies, PeopleSoft 9, what changes
will be made to the current code base and Project Fusion, Oracle’s plan to simultaneously support acquired technology
from PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards, as well as develop its next-generation
merged product.
Some of the more visited sites include
PeopleSoft Fan Club and User
Forum, ITtoolbox for PeopleSoft Knowledge Base and Yahoo group PeopleSoft-Fans. Still other sources, such as PeopleSoft Pros, are offering job placement.
“The community is still upbeat and optimistic,” Onuora Amobi, CEO of
Nnigma Inc., which recently launched
PeopleSoft-Planet.com.
“The majority of the professionals who
write to us still will take this over SAP any day. It’s easier to learn
and use. PeopleSoft in its current form doesn’t seem to be going away
any time soon. The job market looks pretty darn good and so far Oracle
have made no sudden rash moves. To be continued.”
Oracle said it plans to continue to
build and support PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards major product lines until
at least 2013. The database company said it will distribute PeopleSoft
Enterprise version 8.9 in 2005 and version 9.0 in 2006. Project Fusion
will also provide full product support, including patches and fixes,
upgrade scripts, tax and regulatory updates, and technical support.
As in the past, Oracle said this does not mean that all currently
supported releases will be supported through 2013. The company is
requiring that customers do minor upgrades to stay current. For example,
customers who are on Enterprise HCM 8.3 should not plan to remain on
this release through 2013, Oracle said.
An Oracle spokesman told internetnews.com Friday that
executives are hoping to update the community on the company’s progress
on Project Fusion in the next quarter.
Oracle has named John Wookey, senior vice president at Oracle, as the
go-to man for the project. Under him, Oracle has named Cliff Godwin,
senior vice president of applications; Jesper Anderson, formerly
PeopleSoft senior
vice-president; and Joel Summers, senior vice president of Oracle’s
human resource management systems development.
So far, Oracle has reached out to more than 4,500 PeopleSoft and J.D.
Edwards customers as a sign of support. As part of its integration,
Oracle said it is dedicating some 8,000 developers from the three
companies to the project.
“From the e-mail we’ve been getting, our readers seem to be adopting
a wait and see perspective,” PeopleSoft-Planet.com’s Amobi said. “I have
gotten confidential e-mails from developers currently at
Oracle-PeopleSoft, and they seem nervous but cautiously optimistic. They
aren’t sure how potential future layoffs may affect them. Those of them
who have been fortunate to keep their jobs need to be assured that they
are safe or they will probably leave. It’s unnerving to have an axe
dangling over your head at work.”
