Skip the navigation

J.D. Edwards users push for more spending on apps

Companies running green-screen software want an increased commitment from PeopleSoft

By Marc L. Songini
October 27, 2003 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Users of the World ERP applications developed by J.D. Edwards & Co. are mobilizing to lobby new owner PeopleSoft Inc. to keep the aging green-screen software from falling behind the vendor's other products in terms of functionality.

The campaign is being launched by members of the World user advisory panel, which was set up by J.D. Edwards and has been continued by PeopleSoft. It's the latest example of customers banding together to prevent a venerable technology from fading away—and to save themselves from costly migrations.


World runs on IBM's iSeries systems, formerly known as the AS/400, and is still used by nearly half of the J.D. Edwards installed base. PeopleSoft plans to focus most of its J.D. Edwards-related development on a newer product line that's now called PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne. But World Advisory Council members are calling for the software vendor to make a larger investment in the green-screen applications so they don't have to switch to EnterpriseOne or other ERP suites.


"We're taking this as an opportunity to [encourage PeopleSoft to] take another step and make three viable lines instead of two and a half," said William Gabby, North American operations manager at Cargill Inc.'s Global Financial Solutions business unit in Minnetonka, Minn. In addition to World and EnterpriseOne, PeopleSoft offers its flagship PeopleSoft Enterprise suite.


Cargill has about 7,000 end users worldwide running general ledger and other financial applications in green-screen mode and would like to keep World going instead of paying for an upgrade, Gabby said. He added that Cargill officials are seeking the continued development of new software releases and bug fixes, as well as an effort by PeopleSoft to market World to new users so it's not treated as just "an iSeries cash cow."


The IBM 5250 terminal user interface that World supports can process financial data more rapidly than the Web-based screens included in the EnterpriseOne software, said Julie Mauser, IT manager at the Cargill unit. "Green-screen works very nice in certain types of data entry," she noted.


Cargill isn't alone. At this point, about 10 of the 20 companies that belong to the World Advisory Council have expressed interest in trying to create a groundswell of support for more spending on World, said Bill Tritch, a Cargill product manager who is the council's president.


By year's end, the advisory council plans to launch a survey of companies running World to gather input that will be presented to PeopleSoft, said Dave Hyzy, director of IT at Benderson Development Co., a Buffalo, N.Y.-based real estate developer that uses World's financial modules.


Hyzy acknowledged that some companies "have grown fat and lazy with the idea of not having to migrate anything over and just want to keep going on indefinitely" with technology they already have in place. But, he added, "I don't think that's representative of World customers. Most of us realize over time the product has to grow or we're going to have to do something else."




Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

ERP White Papers
Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
Streamline Compliance and Increase ROI
Streamline, simplify, and automate compliance related activities; especially those that impact multiple business units. This white paper from NetIQ, outlines solutions that will...
X-Ray of the PCI Process-4 Proactive Steps
This white paper from Forrester Research Inc., helps break PCI into understandable components. Security and risk professionals will gain knowledge and insight into...
All ERP White Papers
ERP Webcasts
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
All ERP Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs