Sybase Inc. and PeopleSoft Inc. Tuesday announced a partnership that forges closer ties between the two software makers’ products and includes a joint effort to go after the Chinese software market.
The deal will ensure that new releases of PeopleSoft’s business applications will be readied for Sybase’s databases at the same time as releases for databases from IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp. Sybase, based in Dublin, California, already had a similar pact in place for PeopleSoft’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) software but will now extend the arrangement to its HRM (human resources management), CRM (customer relationship management), SCM (supply chain management) and ESA (enterprise service automation) products, said Marty Beard, vice president of corporate development at Sybase.
“When PeopleSoft comes out with the latest versions of its software, it will arrive at the same time with the same quality on Sybase as any of the other ports,” Beard said.
The two companies have also drawn their sales organizations closer together, looking to go after specific vertical markets and regions with their combined software.
Both Sybase and PeopleSoft, based in Pleasanton, California, have set revenue quotas for their sales teams for hawking PeopleSoft applications running on Sybase, Beard said.
Although Oracle and IBM hold the leading shares in the database market, Sybase hopes the PeopleSoft relationship will help it gain ground in traditionally strong vertical markets such as financial services and telecommunications.
In addition, Sybase claims to have one of the largest field organizations of any software maker in China and thinks it can help PeopleSoft tap this still nascent market.
“We have the number two database in China in market share right now, and China is the fastest growing market in the world,” Beard said. “PeopleSoft is very interested in going to market with us and helping them build their business in China.”
The agreement between the two vendors will last for at least five years, Beard said.
