Enabling your people to work more effectively across boundaries—with
each other and with partners—can help your company give its customers what they
want, before they go somewhere else.
PeopleSoft, Inc. was a software company that provided HRMS (human resource management),
CRM (customer relationship management), Manufacturing, Financials, EPM (Enterprise
Performance Management) and Student Administration software solutions to large corporations,
governments, and organizations. Founded in 1987 by David Duffield and Ken Morris,
and headquartered in Pleasanton, California, PeopleSoft's roots began with an idea
Duffield had about a "Client-Server" (then a new concept) version of Integral Systems's
popular mainframe HRMS package. Once Integral declined development and released
Duffield to pursue this endeavor on his own, PeopleSoft was born. In 2003, when
PeopleSoft acquired J.D. Edwards, it decided to differentiate its former product
line with those of Edwards by renaming both products. PeopleSoft's original flagship
product was rebranded as PeopleSoft Enterprise. J.D. Edwards' ERP product was rebranded
as PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne. In January 2005, PeopleSoft was acquired in a hostile
takeover by the Oracle Corporation. This takeover was resisted by PeopleSoft but
Oracle overcame the legal challenge and after the approved merger, PeopleSoft ceased
to be an independent company, although its products continue to be used by thousands
of companies.
Beginning in 2003, PeopleSoft battled with Oracle over control of the PeopleSoft
company. In June 2003, Oracle made a $7 billion bid ($19.50/share) in a hostile
corporate takeover attempt. In February 2004, Oracle increased their bid to approximately
$9.4 billion ($26/share), a 33% increase; this offer was also rejected forthwith
by PeopleSoft's board of directors. Later that month, the U.S. Department of Justice
filed suit to block Oracle, on the grounds that the acquisition would break anti-trust
laws; however, in September 2004, the suit was rejected by a U.S. Federal judge,
who found that the Justice Department had not proven its anti-trust case; in October,
the same decision was handed down by the European Commission. Though Oracle had
reduced its offer to $7.7 billion ($21/share) in May, it again raised its bid in
November to $9.4 billion ($24/share), marking a 14% increase.
In December 2004, Oracle announced that it signed a definitive merger agreement
to acquire PeopleSoft for approximately $10.3 billion ($26.50/share). In January
2005, Oracle fired massive numbers of former PeopleSoft employees. Although these
cuts affected about 9% of the 55,000 staff of the combined companies, they stated
that they would maintain at least 90% of PeopleSoft's product development and support
staff, at least for the time being.
Companies increasingly must listen to their customers, both to maintain high-quality
service and to identify unmet needs that represent new revenue opportunities. Business
success can depend on how well your employees know your customers and provide them
with a rewarding experience. Leverage the best practice expertise of BluEnt’s consultants
and architects to maximize the value of your software investments. We can assess
your needs, design and deploy a new or improved management solution to address them,
and optimize your environment in the face of change.