PeopleSoft gets closer to IBM

As the threat of a hostile takeover by Oracle rumbles on, PeopleSoft has announced a $1bn partnership with IBM.

Speaking at PeopleSoft's user conference in San Francisco yesterday, the company's chief executive Craig Conway said customers are very much a priority.

'PeopleSoft is not slowing down, and we are not changing our commitment to customers,' he said.

The company has formed an extended relationship with IBM that will see IBM's WebSphere products bundled with PeopleSoft applications, free of charge.

The pair will invest $1bn over five-years to jointly develop industry specific software based on the WebSphere middleware, and will focus on helping customers build adaptable service-orientated infrastructures.

Conway says the agreement is part of PeopleSoft's strategy to develop more adaptable applications.

'This is a very important strategic investment from IBM's perspective,' said Steve Mills, senior vice president of IBM Software Group. IBM will send teams to PeopleSoft's headquarters in California and says it will make additional resources available as needed.

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