Microsoft suggests that users of PeopleSoft World, the i/series-based JD Edwards suite, and the more mainstream JD Edwards product now known as PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne, could migrate to the Microsoft Business Solutions’ Axapta suite. The recommended suite for customers in the US and Canada currently using the high-end PeopleSoft suite PeopleSoft Enterprise is Great Plains.
Microsoft is offering migration technology and guidance, a 25% discount on the license costs, and 25% off support for the first year. Its Navision and Solomon products are also included in the scheme but are not the primary recommendations.
In the press release announcing the migration program, Microsoft senior vice president Doug Burgum said: Businesses that use PeopleSoft technology are facing some difficult choices today, and we’re committed to providing them with the best options for moving forward. However, increasing the number of options and advocating a move to a new technology platform can hardly be considered a reduction of the level of difficulty.
While its portfolio might provide an alternative for some SME customers using the old JD Edwards products, a migration from PeopleSoft Enterprise to Great Plains is not credible, especially as the offer is limited to users in the US and Canada.
MBS is probably only the first of many vendors that will try to tempt disgruntled PeopleSoft/JD Edwards users with migration packages. However, the existing customer base should not be panicked into making a decision before Oracle has revealed its plans and provided evidence of how it will execute on them.
