PeopleSoft shareholders filed a lawsuit in opposition to this programme. Did it go too far?
We took to heart some objections Oracle had to the programme. They raised some good objections, such as that ability to support products whose underlying technology is no longer available. We returned the programme to the version Oracle said they liked, the version through 17 October. We filed that (last week).
Is the new programme retroactive for the customers who have signed your customer assurance programme since 17 October?
No, we can't make it retroactive.
Does the revised programme make the shareholder suit go away?
I don't know how it affects that.
Recent reports say PeopleSoft has pushed up the time frame for nominating new board members, a tactic interpreted as a manoeuvre to fend off an Oracle takeover of the board. Is it true that board seat nominations for your June annual shareholders meeting are now due 120 days before the meeting, instead of 20 days?
The change that was made is that the time frame to nominate directors was lengthened to give people a chance to evaluate the nominees. It's normal to have 90 to 120 days to research and understand any board nominees to be made. It was a pretty innocuous change. What we want to make sure of is that shareholders have enough time to evaluate candidates.
But why now? Is this a response to Oracle's talk about installing an Oracle-friendly board?
Microsoft's forays into large enterprise markets have taken a long time. They're not on the charts yet.
I'm not sure it's in response to that. The prospect of any outside interest nominating directors causes you to examine and ask if we have a process for giving our shareholders a good, long look at the options.
How's the merger with J.D. Edwards going?
That's continuing well. We're exerting the most energy on areas such as financial synergies. We've promised to cut about $160m to $200m in duplicate costs. We've closed some facilities. In the area of information technology strategies, we're reconciling duplicate contracts with vendors.
A PeopleSoft executive, Ram Gupta, told me last year that he thought that Microsoft's entry into the business applications market would create a rivalry of biblical proportions. Is that happening?
It's the very, very beginning of a very long journey for Microsoft. Microsoft's forays into large enterprise markets have taken a long time. Look at SQL Server. It's only starting to be a competitor now, after 11 years. It just takes a while. They had to prove that it works in small businesses first. It's early, and it's the first steps of a very long journey. They're not on the charts yet.
