InformationWeek

Vantive 8.5 features the Vantive Java Server, which will connect front-office applications with back-end data sources. "CRM is the catalyst that brings businesses into E-business," says Sam Gallucci, PeopleSoft's executive VP for CRM. "But CRM only delivers a component of E-business."

PeopleSoft also mapped out the next phase of its new architecture: a suite of applications written in HTML and Java that will build upon the Java Server. The Java Release, due in September, will be PeopleSoft's first full-fledged attempt to put Vantive and PeopleSoft applications on one platform. The products work together now, but only with third-party connectors; the Java Release won't require extra middleware.

Yankee Group analyst Sheryl Kingstone applauds the Java Release, noting Java's easy functionality across multiple ERP and CRM platforms, but says the move is just a "baby step" in the right direction. "They need to extend this further for the many channels needed for E-business," Kingstone says.

Executives at Fairchild SemiConductor hope the integration will efficiently fit the requirements for its "multimarket" global strategy. Gary Marston, Fairchild's change control manager, recently created a change-management process in the SalesForce software module using many aspects of PeopleSoft's HR suite. He says the single-platform effort will "save us a lot of heartburn. It's a good marriage for us."

Other users are more cautious. Craig Berkson, CIO of Thomson Financial ESG and Software Solutions, a Boston developer of software for the financial market, plans to wait for the integrated package to be more than just middleware. He says the PeopleSoft and Vantive products already work well together; he'll reassess the situation when "PeopleSoft offers [real] integration between CRM and ERP."