PeopleSoft Inc. has announced a Web-enabled upgrade to its enterprise resource planning suite that will spare customers the chore of distributing proprietary client software to end users. Set to ship in September, PeopleSoft8 includes 108 applications for human resources, supply-chain and financial management, all retooled for the Web. It also includes 59 new applications, mainly for call centre and Web-based customer resource management, which PeopleSoft acquired through its purchase of Vantive. Because the PeopleSoft applications can be linked together for workflow purposes, organizations can use the suite to accept purchase orders placed at a Web site and then have those purchases automatically applied against a negotiated contract. That would result in a drawdown on a contract account, which PeopleSoft would compute and display to show the contract status. PeopleSoft says Version 8 will also support XML for customers who want to exchange documents or set up an XML-based search engine. PeopleSoft8 will include a revamped version of the Vantive customer relationship management (CRM) software for call centre and Web-based CRM. These applications will provide a common view into a customer’s interaction history, whether it originates via the telephone or e-mail. PeopleSoft prices its applications on a customer-specific basis. Typical deployments range from several hundred thousand to several million dollars.
Prices listed are in US currency.
