Opinion: Cut or Be Cut
Posted On: 1/9/2007
by Andrew Spidle
Cutting edge or cutting costs, which is the most important? Which one do we want? Or have we gone so far to the cutting edge that we are now bleeding from rising costs? I often ponder this question when thinking of PeopleSoft’s EPM package. EPM is an awesome platform for analytics, reporting and analytical applications. But, is the value in EPM being cut away by tool changes and application integration? I have to ask the question: where’s the value with EPM?
I think the answer to that question lies within each of us as a user or potential user. PeopleSoft has made a bold move to increase value of EPM and hopefully add some longevity to the toolset. Of course, I am referring to the abrupt switch in ETL technology from Informatica to Ascential. Why would PeopleSoft replace one top tier product with another? The answer is probably more complex than we will ever know. Aside from the obvious business fact that Informatica was directly competing against PeopleSoft in the analytics space, there must be more to it. A closer look at the technology and product suite may serve to find a better answer.
Ascential has a wide array of products that are headed down the data integration and quality path. This is an important step for EPM. It is the beginning of the product’s evolution to a complete data warehouse. By combining metadata management, ETL, quality, and profiling under a single vendor’s code line, the serious gaps in EPM are being closed. Now, I know not all of the Ascential products are delivered with EPM. However, it seems PeopleSoft is beginning to hear the cost of ownership message coming from its customers. Dealing with one suite of tools is more efficient than trying to integrate multiple vendor offerings.
Hopefully, we will see some real integration between the two toolsets. There is so much value in the PeopleSoft interface in terms of training, portal and quality. A consistent look and feel to all the components would be nice. I would like to go to one place to construct all my PeopleSoft objects and link them together with other processes in my warehouse. To me, this is where the current version of EPM really falls down. There isn’t real integration between all the 3rd party applications. With the addition of data profiling and quality applications, now my warehouse can add real value above just storing data and serving up reports.
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