January 12, 2004 (Computerworld) --
Some users of J.D. Edwards & Co.'s business applications are bristling over new owner PeopleSoft Inc.'s decision not to participate in a regional user group conference that begins today in Chicago. PeopleSoft's withdrawal of support for the conference and other upcoming events was announced last week by Quest, the independent user group that the software vendor inherited when it bought J.D. Edwards last summer. PeopleSoft said it wants to consolidate all user events under the umbrella of its annual Connect conference and some smaller meetings. But Quest officials worry that the Lexington, Ky.-based user group will lose its independence if that happens. And PeopleSoft's maneuver is creating a severe winter chill between it and Quest. "From a customer perspective, I'm very disappointed that a key vendor has chosen to pull out of user group activities," said John Matelski, a Quest board member who is deputy CIO for the city of Orlando. In the late 1990s, J.D. Edwards largely ceded control of its user conferences to Quest, Matelski said. He contended that PeopleSoft, in contrast, is used to "controlling their events" and emphasizing product marketing. "We've taken a step back by about five years in terms of the user group's need to re-establish relations with its key partner," he said. Dave Hyzy, a Quest member who uses J.D. Edwards' AS/400 green-screen applications, now called PeopleSoft World, plans to attend this week's conference. Hyzy, director of IT at Benderson Development Co. in Buffalo, N.Y., said it's unfortunate that PeopleSoft and the user group couldn't reach an agreement for the company to take part in the conference. "It basically guts the conference of its meat," he said. "While networking [with other users] is a big benefit, the primary objective is to meet with the software vendor. You can't have a conference without the vendor there." Market research firm IDC said that 31 of 35 J.D. Edwards users it surveyed recently said that they had either the same view of PeopleSoft as they did when the acquisition deal was announced last June or a more positive one. In interviews last week, several IT managers said the rift between PeopleSoft and Quest probably won't affect their view of the company. But Mark Federle, CIO at The Weitz Co. in Des Moines, said the way a vendor treats a user group like Quest could cause customers to wonder how well they're going to be treated. "It would seem like finding a way to serve customers would include being active with a large customer-driven organization," said Federle, who plans to attend this week's conference. The close working relationship between J.D. Edwards and Quest was a factor in
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