Oracle Updates PeopleSoft Modules

Elizabeth Millard, crm-daily.com
Thu Oct 6, 2:07 PM ET

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL - news) announced major upgrades for three modules in the PeopleSoft (Nasdaq: PSFT - news) Enterprise 8.9 suite.

The company has updated the Supply Chain Management, Supplier Relationship Management and Financial Management modules.

The upgrades mark the first major changes to the product line in almost two years. It is also the first release of the Enterprise product line since Oracle acquired PeopleSoft in January.

In unveiling the enhancements, Oracle noted that about 21 months of development have gone into the project, which was begun prior to the acquisition.

Major Revamp

In the modules addressing supply-chain management and supplier relationships, there have been over 100 upgrades in several areas, including contract management and sourcing, according to Oracle.

Also included is upgraded integration functionality in the Supplier Relationship Management module, which brings together contract documents and transactional contracts within the suite's Enterprise Purchasing module.

This integration is designed to help users monitor and enforce vendor pricing, as well as make changes to documents in a central location.

The upgrades to the Financial Management module include significant enhancements to the module's compliance features so enterprises can comply with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations more easily.

The update to this module also boosts project-management functionality with a new collection of applications for asset-lifecycle management.

Automated functions have been buffed up, too, Oracle noted, such as automated cash-flow reporting and production of cash-flow reports.

Customer Care

While the upgrades to PeopleSoft's applications are not surprising, analysts say that Oracle has been particularly cautious in making sure there were no disruptions from the company's acquisition of the firm.

"There would be little point in acquiring a company if you then turn around and alienate all the customers you just gained," said IDC analyst Evan Quinn.

The move to upgrade rather than replace the modules is likely part of a larger Oracle strategy to address customers that were hesitant to upgrade their PeopleSoft applications because they were unsure if the products would be replaced.

"Probably, some customers will now go ahead with plans that they've had on hold," said Quinn.

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