Microsoft Offers Discounts To Lure PeopleSoft Accounts From Oracle

On Monday, Microsoft announced a program designed to migrate users of PeopleSoft World and Enterprise One (formerly JD Edwards) as well as PeopleSoft Enterprise to the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) offerings.

After an 18-month battle, Oracle, Redwood Shores, Calif., officially finalized its acquisition of PeopleSoft, Pleasanton, Calif., on Friday.

In timely fashion, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft on Monday said it will offer discounts on MBS software and services and give free migration technology and guidance to PeopleSoft customers and partners who switch to the Microsoft environment.

PeopleSoft customers who license an MBS application by the end of June 2005 will get a 25 percent discount on their software license as well as a 25 percent discount for the first year of participation in the MBS support and enhancement programs, Microsoft said.

The company advises customers using PeopleSoft World and EnterpriseOne to switch to Microsoft Axapta and PeopleSoft Enterprise customers to move to MBS Great Plains. However, Microsoft said customers who wish to migrate to MBS' Navision and Solomon can take advantage of the discounts as well.

The program also offers planning guides and data migration tools to shorten implementation time. It also includes guidance from systems integrators who specialize in PeopleSoft migration and technical specialists who have handled application conversions and can cross-train sales personnel faced with application conversion.

PeopleSoft customers can get the special discounts through June 22, 2005, but will enjoy significant cost benefits of the Microsoft platform if they switch from Oracle, claims one solution provider.

"We are looking at ways to bring some of the MBS applications Including Axapta, Navision and CRM leveraging SPS as the portal, as a way to give midsize accounts that may have considered PeopleSoft prior to the Oracle acquisition a Microsoft-based alternative," said Ken Winell, president of Econium, Totowa, N.J. He said services from Microsoft's independent service providers will be less expensive than PeopleSoft consulting fees. "Microsoft has some pretty good collateral material to help partners go after these kind of opportunities."