Renee Boucher Ferguson

During its fourth quarter 2004 earnings call Wednesday, software giant SAP AG predicted its software revenues will increase between 10 percent and 12 percent in 2005. SAP, which plans to hire 3,000 new employees to facilitate the growth, points to particular success in U.S. markets as an indictor. Overall software revenues reported by SAP were […]

During Oracles semiannual Analyst Day event Wednesday in New York, company CEO Larry Ellison warned archrival SAP to step lightly when it comes to competitive techniques. Oracle Corp., which acquired PeopleSoft Inc. on Dec. 12 to make it the second largest applications provider in the world behind SAP AG, is fighting hard to win over […]

IBM on Tuesday announced its acquisition of Corio Inc., an enterprise application service provider, for $182 million in cash. The purchase is expected to help IBMs hosted application services business. The acquisition, subject to regulatory and Corio shareholder approval, is also expected to boost IBMs presence in the SMB (small and midsized business) arena, where […]

While enterprise software titans spar over customers in the wake of Oracle Corp.s PeopleSoft Inc. acquisition, offering a dazzling display of discounted migration packages, users are taking a cautionary approach to shifting application vendors. Among the key rivals, Oracle and SAP AG remain several years away from a mature technology stack offering, and Microsoft Corp., […]

Product lifecycle management software developer Arena Solutions Inc. is looking to become the Salesforce.com success story of the product management world. The Menlo Park, Calif., company will announce next week a new module, Arena PLM Workgroup Edition—which is essentially a simplified version of Arena PLM—for free. The Workgroup module is aimed at manufacturing and design […]

Playing the next move in whats become an intense chess game for the software industry, SAP on Wednesday announced the acquisition of TomorrowNow and a new migration program for PeopleSoft application users. The announcements serve as SAP AGs response to Oracle Corp., which launched a combined company Tuesday that includes the assets of PeopleSoft Inc. […]

At the official launch of a combined Oracle Corp. and PeopleSoft Inc. Tuesday, Oracle executives outlined the companys commitment to PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards & Co. customers, as well as the companys future plans with a combined suite. PeopleSoft, now part of Oracle after an 18-month battle to remain independent, acquired JDE in the summer […]

With radio-frequency identification doyen Wal-Mart Stores Inc. midway to a January deadline to have its top 100 suppliers RFID-enable inventory, questions are looming regarding the efficacy of the effort. Wal-Marts RFID initiative requires its top 100 suppliers (along with 37 volunteers) to deliver goods to three of its distribution centers with RFID tags that carry […]

As Oracle Corp. begins operations this week with PeopleSoft Inc. well in tow, it will waste little time in executing several changes that will affect PeopleSoft customers. Among other things, Oracle executives are preparing to implement a 2 percent increase in annual maintenance fees for PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards & Co. customers, according to sources […]

SAP AG announced Wednesday the very quiet acquisition of iLytix Systems SA, a move that will bring business intelligence and reporting capabilities to SAPs Business One software for small and midsized companies. The acquisition of iLytix, a 10-person, privately held company based in Oslo, Norway, actually occurred a couple of weeks ago. The terms of […]