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PeopleSoft Inc. plans to bring its Total Ownership Experience initiative, as well as its acquired J.D. Edwards technology, to its CRM suite next year.
The Pleasanton, Calif., company will also develop a second suite of applications for the midmarket and certain industries, such as manufacturing, from the technology it obtained from J.D. Edwards, said officials at the PeopleSoft Connect conference here last week.
PeopleSoft offers two distinct application suites: Enterprise CRM—currently PeopleSoft 8.8—and Enterprise- One CRM, the rebranded J.D. Edwards 5 software.
Enterprise CRM will be targeted at service industries with large users having distinct roles. EnterpriseOne CRM will be targeted more to the manufacturing sector, companies with fewer users who have shared roles, PeopleSoft officials said.
By the middle of next year, PeopleSoft plans to release a new version of Enterprise CRM, code-named Kapalua. Such TOE capabilities as simplified installation, configuration and maintenance, and improved usability will be key in this release.
Kapalua will include a new strategic account management application and enhanced partner relationship management, officials said.
By the first quarter of 2005, PeopleSoft plans to add new modules from the J.D. Edwards stack to Enterprise CRM, including wealth management—intended mainly for financial services companies—and asset management, for managing a companys physical assets as well as its customers.
Louise Brandy, vice president and business systems manager at commercial real estate management company CB Richard Ellis Inc., welcomes the usability improvements planned for Enterprise CRM. “Its such a robust application that on the first look it seems overwhelming,” said Brandy. “It needs a more streamlined look.”
CB Richard Ellis, of Newport Beach, Calif., uses PeopleSoft 8.8 CRM as well as financials and uses J.D. Edwards software for client accounting and property management.
The first release of EnterpriseOne CRM Version 8.9 is planned for next quarter. Capabilities are being added from PeopleSofts existing technology, including enhanced case management, branch scripting, a knowledge base and automated claims processing for customer support applications. TOE will also be extended to EnterpriseOne CRM, including providing the applications with a common security and administration model and removing the Extended Process Integration layer for customer relationship management to back-office integration.
PeopleSoft will discontinue selling J.D. Edwards YouCentric applications as a stand-alone offering.