PeopleSoft Connect: Let's Talk Technology, Products, Execution

That's what the Pleasanton, Calif.-based vendor hopes to convey this week at its user conference, after a U.S. District Court judge quashed the federal government's efforts to shield PeopleSoft against Oracle's hostile takeover bid.

Oracle executives have said they don't care about PeopleSoft's products, which now include onetime J.D. Edwards midmarket applications. Yet it's the products that likely will be the focus for CEO Craig Conway in his Tuesday keynote and for the expected 14,000 attendees.

PeopleSoft's announcements are slated to include news of several product upgrades--notably release 8.9 of Enterprise Capital Management, due in December--as well as the introduction of an advanced level of partnership for ISVs.

The new PeopleSoft Industry Certified Software Partner program will provide co-marketing and sales opportunities, demand generation and joint participation in industry events to certified ISVs. A similar program for systems integrators is expected by year's end.

But PeopleSoft's reseller channel can be described as evolving in fits and starts. It currently has about a half-dozen resellers from the J.D. Edwards side of the business.

In May, PeopleSoft unveiled plans to tap IBM's channel to bulk up its reseller presence. And CRN has learned that longtime PeopleSoft executive Tim Schinke now has North American channel duties, although PeopleSoft has not announced that fact.

One solution provider, who requested anonymity, said the vendor is trying to become more channel-friendly. "Some of what's driving that is SAP's channel, which PeopleSoft views as its main competitor."