Peoplesoft Inc, hit hard by the recent slow down in license sales for its core enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, has turned to what it calls ‘e-business’ in an attempt to squeeze more revenues from its existing user base. As predicted by Computergram yesterday, Peoplesoft used its annual user conference in San Francisco to launch its latest e-business brainchild, the key part of which is a customizable, web-browser interface (looking remarkably similar to a typical my.Yahoo! portal page) which will give a broader range of employees and business partners access to a company’s core ERP data. Employees will be able to access selected performance metrics while also automating common tasks, such as expense claims or travel bookings, and these personal transactions will be linked into what Peoplesoft terms the ERP backbone. The idea is partly driven by Peoplesoft’s currently uncertain business environment. With spending on new ERP installations showing a sudden slow down, widely blamed on increased year 2000 spending, Peoplesoft’s stock has fallen to just $23 from a high of $55 in April. Hence the company is looking for ways to maximize revenues from existing clients. Convincing these clients to roll out Peoplesoft access to more and more employees is clearly a smart move. And the e- business initiative also brings with it a potentially new source of revenues. Peoplesoft aims to assemble a host of ‘certified’ external service and goods providers, called the Peoplesoft Business Network (PSBN) who will pay an as yet undisclosed amount to be linked into the customized Peoplesoft home pages of the 25 million newly empowered Peoplesoft users. This range of new content partners will initially cover services like travel, financial expertise or other common tasks associated with the daily transactions Peoplesoft wants to draw into the ERP backbone via this new browser-based front end. Over time, Peoplesoft’s e- business network will expand the types of business process that can be executed electronically, hence the PSBN community will expand also. No pricing structure has been announced yet, mainly because the plan is still in its infancy. Peoplesoft promises to reveal detailed pricing over the start of next year. It also plans to forge links with a host of developers and partners to deliver this e-business community. PeopleSoft sees e-business as much more than making web-based commercial transactions, said Mark Vershel, VP of e-business strategy at PeopleSoft, It represents an entirely new end-user experience, enabling people to accomplish a wide variety of business goals more efficiently and effectively over the internet.
