Things could not get more fluid at PeopleSoft, the enterprise solutions company.
Just the other week, there was a change at the top, which followed the go-ahead for its acquisition of J.D. Edwards. There was also Oracle's bid to take over the company, which is currently being mulled over.
In the meantime, PeopleSoft is looking to raise its profile in the Middle East, which is only now emerging as a sort of focus area.
Gulf News spoke to Jeffrey Read, managing director and vice-president, PeopleSoft Distribution Group, EMEA, for an update on the company's plans.
GULF NEWS: What is PeopleSoft's immediate future in the Middle East in terms of employee numbers and product lines over the next six months? Do you plan to increase or reduce the scope of operations here, and what plans do you have for the channel?
JEFFREY READ: PeopleSoft is expanding its channel presence in the Middle East to accelerate our customer coverage in key industry verticals, such as retail, wholesale/distribution, manufacturing, oil and gas and government.
PeopleSoft is also recruiting new distributors for key markets, such as Saudi Arabia. We expect to double the number of distributors we have in the region in the next 60 days.
In light of Oracle's recent decision to eliminate distributor territories that might have created a channel conflict between its direct and channel sales in the Middle East, PeopleSoft has received a renewed interest of current Oracle resellers that want to become PeopleSoft distributors.
To support the increased number of distributors, PeopleSoft is also expanding its team in our Middle East office to provide demonstration, sales and post sales support for our distributors we are hiring and have open positions posted in all three areas.
Compared to competitors, PeopleSoft hasn't really developed a strong brand presence regionally. How are you working with channel partners to raise the brand's profile?
PeopleSoft is gaining market share at the expense of our competitors, especially Oracle. Branding starts by ensuring that all distributors have access to the most current information, and deliver a consistent message to our customers.
Some regional J.D. Edwards customers are unhappy with the fact that they've had limited access to technology updates since the takeover. How is PeopleSoft trying to satisfy these customers and keep them informed?
PeopleSoft has been made several significant investments this year to support its EnterpriseOne customers in the Middle East. All PeopleSoft product road maps have been provided via PeopleSoft Customer Connection a portal that is updated weekly. This provides personalised, product specific and more current information to our customers.
Since the merger, R&D spending on the EnterpriseOne product family is up 18 per cent from when J.D. Edwards was independent. This acceleration of investment in EnterpriseOne is as a result of PeopleSoft's product transference strategy.
Due to the large size of our Middle East Customer base, PeopleSoft hosted our first Middle East User Group in June.
This enhanced support policy has benefited former J.D. Edwards customers as they now receive a more comprehensive support programme as well as a longer support programme for releases.
Customers receive technical support for an indefinite period of time, four-years' support for new patches and fixes; five years for upgrade scripts; and six years for tax updates and regulatory changes.
For many people, Gitex 2003 was the first time that they saw the change from J.D. Edwards to PeopleSoft, and the first time that PeopleSoft made its presence felt in the Middle East. What impact has the acquisition had?
The merger of PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards has accelerated PeopleSoft's presence in the Middle East. Our local office has provided closer support to customers and partners alike. In fact, according to a recent IDC report, "third placed PeopleSoft continued to display strong growth in Mena in 2003.
"During the last two years, the vendor has been rapidly gaining market share and is close to overtaking Oracle as the second largest vendor in the region."
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