IDC analyst Clare Gillan attributed PeopleSoft's growth that year to the company's entry into foreign markets. PeopleSoft also added a new erp manufacturing application, which meant the company could compete with SAP and Oracle for the business of manufacturers who wanted software to manage the flow of inventory and supplies, plan factory floor use, and make the production processes more efficient. "PeopleSoft has been very successful in expanding its product suite so when it goes into a deal it's selling a much larger piece to customers," Ms. Gillan explained.

ERP Software

PeopleSoft ERP Software Review, Part II

Due to the events which were to follow in 2003, it is important to note here that in 1997 PeopleSoft overtook the Oracle Corporation in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application market.

During the year 1998, PeopleSoft also rolled out its Enterprise Performance Management product, an integrated suite of analytic business software that set apart PeopleSoft as the first company able to provide such a wide array of analytic tools across every industry.

In 1999, PeopleSoft introduced e7.5. This particular program, designed to become the backbone of all of the company's subsequent eBusiness initiatives, was the first program to bring real Internet functionality to PeopleSoft's software options. Only months later, the company introduced PeopleSoft 8, software that offered one-hundred percent Internet-based technologies and applications.

PeopleSoft's expansion was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in America four times during that decade.  And, when Y2K fears slowed the pace of this growth a bit, the company rededicated itself to providing cutting-edge, Internet-based software applications in order to try and gain back some of the lost market share.

To begin the twenty-first century right, PeopleSoft moved to extend its Internet advantage when it launched PowerTools 8, the first server-centric platform released by a major enterprise applications company. This was an important development because a server-centric platform requires software to be installed only one time on a central server in order to be able to run on any linked network terminals. This capability affords businesses a greater degree of flexibility in how it makes use of a software product.  

PeopleSoft expanded its product lines to include vertical applications not only for manufacturing firms, but also for government agencies. Toward the end of the century, PeopleSoft had become a leading provider of ERP software. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP software is typically used to automate and integrate corporate functions across the board, such as inventory control, procurement, distribution, finance, and project management. The software solution ties together back-office erp applications and databases. Its software addresses such tasks as accounting, human resources management, and supply chain management.

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pamelarichards