PeopleSoft aims for three markets

PeopleSoft will soon have three faces as it tries to meet the needs of its ever-growing customer base.

The Pleasanton, California-based firm is restructuring its operations into three divisions centered around the vertical markets it serves: product industries, service industries, and education and government.

"This new structure brings significant new leadership and management focus to PeopleSoft's industry initiatives," said Barry Wright, general manager of PeopleSoft's industry operations. "By moving a significant portion of our marketing, services, and sales support operations into these divisions, we are giving our industry-focused operations extensive flexibility to tailor their efforts to key industries, and even to the individual customers they serve."

Each division is to have its own marketing, sales, and support organizations. They are also more closely aligned with the Big 5 consulting firms like Andersen Consulting or PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the way those firms attack that market.

"[PeopleSoft has] deemphasized its services focus," said Joshua Greenbaum, principal of Enterprise Applications Consulting in Berkeley, California. He added that by more closely aligning with the consulting firms, PeopleSoft can transfer some of that work to the services firms and ease the growing burden on its own services division.

The product industries division is to be led by Jeff Carr and will handle customers in manufacturing, retail, communications, transportation, and utilities businesses.

Services industries will serve companies such as healthcare, financial services, and other service-oriented firms. It will be led by Phil Wilmington.

The government and higher education division will handle most of the public sector customers and is to be led by Paul Salsgiver.