PeopleSoft, Inc. was a company that provided
human resource management systemsA Human Resource Management System , Human Resource Information System , HR Technology or also called HR modules, refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management and information technology...
(HRMS) and
customer relationship managementCustomer relationship management are methods that companies use to interact with customers. The methods include employee training and special purpose CRM software...
(CRM) software, as well as software solutions for manufacturing, financials, enterprise performance management, and student administration to large
corporationA corporation is a legal entity separate from the shareholders and employees. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate...
s, governments, and organizations. It existed as an independent corporation until its acquisition by Oracle Corporation in 2005.The PeopleSoft name and product line are now marketed by Oracle.
Founded in 1987 by
David DuffieldDavid Duffield is a U.S. businessman in the software industry. He is best known as the co-founder and former chairman of PeopleSoft. In recent years he has consistently been on the Forbes World's Richest People list...
and Ken Morris, PeopleSoft was originally headquartered in
Walnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
before moving to
Pleasanton, CaliforniaPleasanton is a city in Alameda County,California, incorporated in 1894. It is a major suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and 6 miles west of Livermore. The population in July 2007: 66,544 at the 2000 census...
.
PeopleSoft, Inc. was a company that provided
human resource management systemsA Human Resource Management System , Human Resource Information System , HR Technology or also called HR modules, refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management and information technology...
(HRMS) and
customer relationship managementCustomer relationship management are methods that companies use to interact with customers. The methods include employee training and special purpose CRM software...
(CRM) software, as well as software solutions for manufacturing, financials, enterprise performance management, and student administration to large
corporationA corporation is a legal entity separate from the shareholders and employees. In British tradition it is the term designating a body corporate, where it can be either a corporation sole or a corporation aggregate...
s, governments, and organizations. It existed as an independent corporation until its acquisition by Oracle Corporation in 2005.The PeopleSoft name and product line are now marketed by Oracle.
History
Founded in 1987 by
David DuffieldDavid Duffield is a U.S. businessman in the software industry. He is best known as the co-founder and former chairman of PeopleSoft. In recent years he has consistently been on the Forbes World's Richest People list...
and Ken Morris, PeopleSoft was originally headquartered in
Walnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
before moving to
Pleasanton, CaliforniaPleasanton is a city in Alameda County,California, incorporated in 1894. It is a major suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and 6 miles west of Livermore. The population in July 2007: 66,544 at the 2000 census...
. Duffield envisioned a
client-serverClient-server computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or work loads between service providers and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers operate over a computer network on separate hardware...
version of
Integral SystemsIntegral Systems is a provider of satellite ground systems. Founded in 1982, the Columbia, Maryland based company has supported over 205 satellite missions for communications, science, meteorological and earth resource applications...
' popular
mainframeMainframes are computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term probably had originated from the early mainframes, as...
HRMS package. PeopleSoft version 1, released in the late 1980s, was the first fully-integrated, robust client-server HRMS application suite. PeopleSoft expanded its product range to include a financials module in 1992, distribution in 1994, and manufacturing in 1996 after the acquisition of Red Pepper.
Applications
PeopleSoft's product suite was initially based on a
client-serverClient-server computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or work loads between service providers and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers operate over a computer network on separate hardware...
approach with a dedicated
clientA client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. The term was first applied to devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network...
. With the release of version 8, the entire suite moved to a
webThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks...
-centric design called Pure Internet Architecture (PIA). The new format allowed all of a company's business functions to be accessed and run on a
web browserA web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. Originally, a small number of security and system setup functions still needed to be performed on a
fat clientA fat client or rich client is a computer in client-server architecture networks which typically provides rich functionality independently of the central server...
machine; however, this is no longer the case.
Development platform
The architecture is built around PeopleSoft’s proprietary
PeopleToolsPeopleTools is the proprietary software development environment that was created by the PeopleSoft Corporation.The PeopleTools consist of Application Designer, Application Engine, Data Mover, PeopleCode and various other developer tools.-Application Designer:...
technology. PeopleTools includes many different components used to create web-based applications: a scripting language known as
PeopleCodePeopleCode is an object-oriented proprietary language used to express business logic for PeopleSoft applications. In its fundamentals, PeopleCode syntax resembles other programming languages. Some aspects of the PeopleCode language, however, are specifically related to the PeopleTools environment...
, design tools to define various types of
metadataMetadata is "data about data", of any sort in any media. Metadata is text, voice, or image that describes what the audience wants or needs to see or experience. The audience could be a person, group, or software program...
, standard security structure,
batch processingBatch processing is execution of a series of programs on a computer without manual intervention.Batch jobs are set up so they can be run to completion without manual intervention, so all input data is preselected through scripts or command-line parameters...
tools, and the ability to interface with an
SQLSQL is a database computer language designed for managing data in relational database management systems , and originally based upon Relational Algebra. Its scope includes data query and update, schema creation and modification, and data access control. SQL was one of the first languages for...
database. The metadata describes data for user interfaces, tables, messages, security, navigation, portals, etc. This set of tools allows the PeopleSoft suite to be platform independent.
J.D. Edwards
In 2003, PeopleSoft performed a friendly merger with smaller rival
J.D. EdwardsJ.D. Edwards, also called JDE, is a software company founded in March 1977 in Denver, Colorado by Jack Thompson, C.T.P."Chuck" Hintze, Dan Gregory and Ed McVaney...
. The latter's similar product line, World and OneWorld, targeted mid-sized companies too small to benefit from PeopleSoft's applications. J.D. Edwards' software used the Configurable Network Architecture, which shielded applications from both the
operating systemAn operating system is an interface between hardware and user which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating...
and the database back-end.
Oracle Corporation
Beginning in 2003,
OracleOracle Corporation specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Through organic growth and a number of high-profile acquisitions, Oracle enlarged its share of the software market...
began to maneuver for control of the PeopleSoft company. In June 2003, Oracle made a $7 billion bid in a hostile corporate
takeoverIn business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
attempt. In February 2004, Oracle increased their bid to approximately $9.4 billion, a 33% increase; this offer was also rejected forthwith by PeopleSoft's
board of directorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
. Later that month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed
suitA lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
to block Oracle, on the grounds that the acquisition would break anti-trust laws. In September 2004, the suit was rejected by a
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Federal judgeFederal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges are chosen by public contest. Thirty federal judges are elected each year.-Canada:...
, who found that the Justice Department had not proven its anti-trust case. In October, the same decision was handed down by the
European CommissionThe European Commission acts as an executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27...
. Though Oracle had reduced its offer to $7.7 billion in May, it again raised its bid in November to $9.4 billion, marking a 14% increase.
In December 2004, Oracle announced that it had signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire PeopleSoft for approximately $10.3 billion. The following January, Oracle announced plans to cut approximately 9% of the 55,000 staff of the combined companies, maintaining at least 90% of PeopleSoft's product development and support staff.
Oracle moved to capitalize on the perceived strong brand loyalty within the JD Edwards user community by rebranding former JD Edwards products. Thus
PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne became
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and
PeopleSoft World became
JD Edwards World. Oracle has announced that a new product,
FusionOracle Fusion Middleware consists of a portfolio of software products from Oracle Corporation. OFM spans multiple services, including J2EE and developer tools, integration services, business intelligence, collaboration, and content management...
, is to be released in the near future. Oracle says Fusion will take the best aspects of the PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and Oracle Applications and merge them into a new product suite.
PeopleSoft timeline
- 1987: PeopleSoft, Inc. founded by David Duffield
David Duffield is a U.S. businessman in the software industry. He is best known as the co-founder and former chairman of PeopleSoft. In recent years he has consistently been on the Forbes World's Richest People list...
and Ken Morris in Walnut Creek, CA, USA.
- 1988: PeopleSoft HRMS released.
- 1991: Begins opening international offices.
- 1994: Public distribution of Distribution and Financials modules.
- 1995: Launch of Student Administration System.
- 1996: Releases Manufacturing and PeopleSoft 6, their first ERP package.
- 1997: PeopleSoft 7 is released within upgraded ERP modules.
- 1998: PeopleSoft 7.5 is released with improved client/server technology. Acquired Intrepid Systems.
- 1999: Craig Conway named new CEO; release products to enable Internet transactions.
- 2000: Acquired Vantive
Vantive was a CRM company founded in 1990 in Mountain View, CA. Vantive was a worldwide leader in innovative customer relationship management solutions with more than 700 customers and $163M in revenue in 1998. Vantive expanded in the late 90's and relocated to Santa Clara, CA. It was bought by...
Corporation.
- 2000: Deliver PeopleSoft 8 with an in-house application service provider.
- 2003: Acquired J.D. Edwards
- 2005: Acquired by Oracle Corporation.
- 2006: PeopleSoft FMS 9.0 is released.
- 2006: PeopleSoft HCM 9.0 is released.(December 2006)
See also
- List of ERP software packages
- PeopleTools
PeopleTools is the proprietary software development environment that was created by the PeopleSoft Corporation.The PeopleTools consist of Application Designer, Application Engine, Data Mover, PeopleCode and various other developer tools.-Application Designer:...
- PeopleCode
PeopleCode is an object-oriented proprietary language used to express business logic for PeopleSoft applications. In its fundamentals, PeopleCode syntax resembles other programming languages. Some aspects of the PeopleCode language, however, are specifically related to the PeopleTools environment...
- Meta-SQL
Meta-SQL Use Meta-SQL expands to platform-specific SQL substrings, causes another function to be called, or substitutes a value...
- Configurable Network Computing
Configurable Network Computing or CNC is JD Edwards's client-server proprietary architecture and methodology that implements its highly-scalable enterprise-wide business solutions software that can run on a wide variety of hardware, operating systems and hardware platforms...
JDEdwards proprietary middleware technology acquired in its purchase by PeopleSoft
- PeopleSoft Consultancy (http://www.sennac.com)
External links