Oracle acquisitions 'fully merged` by 1 June

Dubai, 21 Apr 2005

Following its recent takeover of PeopleSoft and JD Edwards (JDE), Oracle expects to see its merger complete and the companies operating as a single entity in SA and most other countries by 1 June.

According to Jimmy Anidjar, senior VP for Oracle EMEA, while there will be redundancies following the merger, the takeover is about market expansion, so the company intends to keep as many staff on board as possible.

Speaking at the Oracle PartnerNetwork day in Dubai this week, Anidjar said: "The vast majority of our developers, support staff and sales people are being kept, as layoffs throughout the EMEA region are being kept to a minimum, although there will be some reduction in terms of back-office functions.

"Consolidation is currently the keyword in our industry and many of the smaller companies are either losing money or just breaking even, meaning they are left with two options: either acquire other businesses in order to grow or be acquired by a larger organisation."

He says that in terms of the PeopleSoft and JDE clients in the region, Oracle has been involved in an extensive outreach programme to share the company`s product strategy and roadmap with them, and has also been measuring their feedback.

"Many have adopted a 'wait and see` approach, but as they find themselves receiving more detailed information, we have been receiving much happier feedback," says Anidjar.

He says that part of Oracle`s strategy moving forward is to remain committed to the current PeopleSoft and JDE products for the next decade, while welcoming their partners into the Oracle partner community.

"We are not just supporting these products, but will also be enhancing, developing and actively marketing both the PeopleSoft and JDE product ranges over the next 10 years.

"This will obviously occur in the markets where these are the dominant products. We won`t be going to customers with both of these, as well as the Oracle range, and asking them to choose the one they like best."