Amidst much fanfare, Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) earlier this week announced its plans for PeopleSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: PSFT), but the Pleasanton, Calif.-based firms users are still anxious about the long-term effects of the merger (see Oracle Takes Control of PeopleSoft).
Oracle outlined support for PeopleSofts enterprise and core JD Edwards families through at least 2013, and provided an estimated roadmap for other releases (see Oracle Shares PeopleSoft Plans).
The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based vendor also unveiled the grandiosely titled "Project Fusion," an architecture combining the best features of both companies' products. The first of these new applications will be available in 2007.
But one IT manager at a large private university, who asked not to be named, was unhappy about the whole business. I personally wish that the merger had never happened. PeopleSoft customers would have been better off if PeopleSoft remained the owner of the software, he says. Since they developed the software they know it best.
The IT manager, who uses a range of PeopleSoft offerings, was also uneasy about the future roadmap. I like a lot of what I have heard, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I would like to know if, in the future, the combined products will only run on Oracles platforms, he says.
