PeopleSoft aims for integration
The enterprise resource planning software vendor is busy trying to find ways to let users attach other software systems to its product.
The Pleasanton, California-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendor is busy trying to find ways to let users attach other software systems to its product.
As ERP software increasingly becomes the backbone of corporate computing environments, PeopleSoft and its competitors like SAP, Oracle, and J.D. Edwards, are all working to make it easier to attach third-party software to their systems.
Users are demanding that vendors take responsibility for linking to the ERP products software like plant control or document imaging systems that are not part of standard enterprise resource software packages.
PeopleSoft this week laid out its long-term goals for taking on such tasks for its customers. The company's strategy is to tackle the problem from four directions: application development, technology enhancements, partnerships, and services for customers.
In the application development arena, PeopleSoft is continuing to build application programming interfaces and applications with key touch points where other software can link in to the system. Other development work includes building component programming interfaces that wrap business processes into blocks that other systems can understand.
But this move is also pushing PeopleSoft to develop advanced messaging systems to carry the data from its software to another program. PeopleSoft is looking at using eXtensible Markup Language (XML) to take care of some of this need. Other work includes using a publish and subscribe system to transfer data between systems.
On the partnership side of the agenda, PeopleSoft is working with other software vendors to build tight links between each other's mutual products. Such relationships include the recent deal with Siebel and an existing one with Vantive for front office functionality like sales force automation. PeopleSoft is also offering its services to customers to help build custom interfaces if necessary.
PeopleSoft executives said the project is ongoing and no time frame was given for when all the pieces would be available.