Oracle last week underlined the key role PeopleSoft will play in its next generation of business applications and declared that it has reached the half-way stage of its Project Fusion scheme to integrate its suites.

Speaking at a press conference in San Francisco, Oracle president Charles Phillips said integration is “ahead of schedule”, declared Fusion would no longer be referred to as a project, and insisted a full Fusion Applications suite is on target for a 2008 release.

The company also unveiled new features for its Fusion Middleware and confirmed plans to release updated versions of its three leading application suites – Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne – this year.

Each suite will include Fusion components such as integration, business reporting and workflow tools.

Chairman of the Oracle UK User Group Ronan Miles welcomed the news and said Oracle had proved its critics wrong by sticking to a timetable many had labelled over-ambitious. Phillips said much of the groundwork for the 2008 Fusion Applications had already been laid by certifying existing software on Oracle Fusion Middleware and defining the Fusion Architecture, data model and new application requirements.

Oracle also detailed how it is selecting functionality from its various business suites for inclusion in the 2008 offering. Much of the talk focused on PeopleSoft, and how some of its development techniques, data distribution functionality and elements of its user interface will be incorporated.

Ian Charlesworth of analyst Ovum added that Fusion Middleware and the vendor’s service-oriented architecture (SOA) strategy means firms will be able to create composite applications by picking functionality from anywhere within the application portfolio.

Miles voiced disappointment that Oracle did not offer more details about its imminent acquisition of Siebel. “Users are hungry to see [Siebel] come into the fold,” he added.