Analysts keener on Oracle's PeopleSoft bid than customers

Lying in the arms of Larry

By Andrew Orlowski • Get more from this author

Posted in Hardware, 12th June 2003 22:00 GMT

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PeopleSoft customers are much more wary of Oracle's predatory bid for PeopleSoft than analysts.

In a poll of 2,606 PeopleSoft customers by Meta Group, the number of respondents who thought the Oracle bid was a bad thing outnumbered those who thought it was a good thing by almost two to one. 921 compared to 424 thought negatively of the move. However, almost half of all those polled preferred not to express an opinion. It's a web poll, too, so caveats should apply.

Analyst company Sageza was much more bullish about PeopleSoft lying in the arms of Larry.

"If Oracle fails, then PeopleSoft would be able to build from its Number Two position and use the DB2 trump card to demand better terms whenever Oracle came calling with its tin cup extended," write analysts Myles Suer and Jim Balderston.

"But if Oracle is successful, it could gain access to a near captive relationship with the largest enterprise software vendor, which would likely cause many a chagrined face at IBM and Sybase given their strong relationships with PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards."

And no one wants to see a chagrined face. However Oracle's spin team clearly needs to work harder. In the end its PeopleSoft's customers who get to vote on how successful the merger may be - with their wallets. ®