J.D. Edwards Would Ride PeopleSoft's CRM CoattailsJ.D. Edwards Would Ride PeopleSoft's CRM Coattails

J.D. Edwards & Co. hadn't yet really revved up its CRM line when the announcement came that the company would be acquired by PeopleSoft Inc. The vendor was still relatively new to the market, having made its first official foray into the market a little over a year ago. It only got aggressive in February, with version 2 of its CRM suite. AMR Research was expecting J.D. Edwards to really push this version and to work its way onto short lists for CRM implementations.

"In a lot of ways, J.D. Edwards has not yet made a name for itself in the CRM market," says Joanie Rufo, research director at AMR Research. "Version 2 got them to the point where they could be more competitive outside their installed base and made them a logical choice, rather than the just the incumbent winning the deal."

But the combined companies do have a compelling CRM story to tell when it comes to vertical-industry expertise. J.D. Edwards is skilled in servicing the manufacturing industry, while PeopleSoft has an excellent reputation in the services industry. "Those skills are hard to come by, and nowhere is vertical expertise more important than in applications for CRM," Rufo says. "The way you manage relationships, place orders, and manage the sales process is very different by industry, so the benefit on both sides is that they can gain credibility in two tough vertical markets."