PeopleSoft

PeopleSoft, Inc. is a company that provides human resource management systems (HRMS), financial management solutions (FMS), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise performance management (EPM) software, as well as software for manufacturing, and student administration to large corporations, governments, and organizations. It existed as an independent corporation until its acquisition by Oracle Corporation in 2005. The PeopleSoft name and product line are now marketed by Oracle. PeopleSoft Financial Management Solutions (FMS) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) are part of the same package, commonly known as Financials and Supply Chain Management (FSCM). PeopleSoft Campus Solutions (CS) is a separate package developed as a student information system for colleges and universities. Founded in 1987 by Ken Morris and David Duffield, PeopleSoft was originally headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, before moving to Pleasanton, California. Duffield envisioned a client–server version of Integral Systems popular mainframe HRMS package. He cofounded PeopleSoft after leaving Integral Systems which was also based in Walnut Creek. It should not be confused with Integral Systems of Columbia, Maryland, a different company. The company's sole venture backing came from IBM. George J. Still Jr. from Norwest Venture Partners joined the Board of Directors. PeopleSoft version 1, released in the late 1989, was the first fully integrated, robust client–server HRMS application suite. PeopleSoft expanded its product range to include a financials module in 1992, distribution in 1994, and manufacturing in 1996 after the acquisition of Red Pepper. In 2003, PeopleSoft accomplished a friendly merger with smaller rival JD Edwards. The latter's similar product line, World and OneWorld, targeted mid-sized companies too small to benefit from PeopleSoft's applications. JD Edwards' software used the Configurable Network Computing architecture, which shielded applications from both the operating system and the database back-end.