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Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) 
has released the next version of PeopleSoft's CRM application, version 9, fulfilling a promise made to PeopleSoft customers concerned over Oracle's acquisition of the vendor.
Included in the new release, according to Doris Wong, vice president and general manager for PeopleSoft Enterprise products, are industry-specific applications for the financial services and communications industries, productivity and user enhancements, and an increased focus of Oracle's Fusion Middleware, the tech stack the company is developing to knit together the various pieces of software it has acquired over the last few years.
"This is a very significant release for PeopleSoft users," she told CRM Buyer.
Targeting Communications, Financial Services
In 9.0, PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM has built out its order and service management for the communications industry, including support 
for certain business processes, such as mobile number portability, reporting lost or stolen wireless handsets, and prepaid account setup.
In the financial services industry -- an industry in which both PeopleSoft and Oracle have excelled at providing best-of-breed functionality -- the new application includes support for such processes as financial account creation, lead and referral management, and Web services for remote portlets (WSRP), which allows content within the portal to be visible by third-party portal technologies.
User-Friendly Enhancements
The application focuses on user-friendliness, an area in which PeopleSoft previously excelled. For example, fewer clicks and page transfers are required to complete a process.
Other new features include auto-save of recent searches, an auto-population of commonly typed text using hotkeys, calendaring enhancements, lead import performance improvements, and mobile sales support for Intellisync Mobile Suite (IMS) architecture.
Focusing on Fusion
PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM 9 has also integrated Oracle Fusion Middleware and PeopleTools 8.48, building a platform that Oracle says can handle disparate technologies and applications. Other integration technologies embedded in the new application include expanded Web services, Oracle XML Publisher and Oracle PEL Process Manager.
These technologies allow users to more easily integrate with third-party applications and plug into standards-based business processes, manage correspondence, and deploy new applications and business processes across heterogenous systems.
"The release [of PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM 9] includes standards-based technology to ensure our customers may derive continued value from their technology investments without surrendering the IT agility required to capture new opportunities as they arise," said Oracle Vice President of PeopleSoft Enterprise Application Strategy John Webb.
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