Wednesday, January 19, 2005

SAP to provide maintenance for PeopleSoft products

In a strange twist to the Oracle/PeopleSoft drama, SAP has just acquired TomorrowNow, a third-party provider of annual maintenance and support services for PeopleSoft customers. SAP is touting this move as a way to provide companies "a safe passage away from the uncertainties" around Oracle's acquisition of PeopleSoft.

SAP says that it is focused on serving customers that run SAP's applications alongside those of PeopleSoft and the former J.D. Edwards, which PeopleSoft acquired. But SAP no doubt has its eye on transitioning those customers to SAP's offerings before Oracle can convert them to its next generation product, code-named Project Fusion. I'm sure that SAP will not object, either, if PeopleSoft customers in general approach TomorrowNow with the need for annual maintenance and support.

SAP's move shows how in the large company sector there are very few new deals to be won. The battle is now being fought over extending the footprint of each incumbent, taking away user seats from its competitors. SAP's move to buy a PeopleSoft service provider is a smart move.

SAP has a press release on the acquisition.

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