The Week in Review: February 13, 2004

In the news... PeopleSoft announced this week that the antitrust staff at the Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended that the Department file suit to block Oracle's proposed acquisition of PeopleSoft. The staff recommendation has been submitted to the office of the Assistant Attorney General, and the DOJ will make its decision no later than March 2. Even with this development, Oracle is reiterating its determination to complete the deal. "This process is simply not complete," James Rill, a member of Oracle's counsel, said in a statement. "I have seen many instances in which the assistant attorney general's decision differed from that recommended by the investigating staff. In my experience, the assistant attorney general will take ample time to review the facts of this situation with an open mind and meet with Oracle before coming to a decision on the matter." As telecom carriers struggle to get their businesses moving again, they are taking a more proactive, holistic approach to managing customers, according to a new report from Technology Research Institute (TRI). The trend is driving a global market for customer assurance software and consulting services that reached $1.2 billion in 2003 with projected growth to $1.7 billion by 2008. The report found that telecoms today are putting a greater emphasis on managing customer profitability, resulting in significantly decreased costs due to churn and increased revenues from retaining the most valuable customers. Also, greater use of analytics solutions are leading to higher returns on customer-centric initiatives, the report says. Earlier this week KANA announced it has completed its acquisition of Hipbone. As a result, KANA has added Hipbone's Web collaboration, chat, co-browsing and file-sharing capabilities to the KANA iCARE suite. Deals of the week... Epicor Software announced that the NFL's Washington Redskins selected Epicor's midmarket hospitality enterprise solution, Epicor for Hospitality and Entertainment. Wachovia Bank is standardizing on Hyperion's Business Performance Management suite of applications for its worldwide financial planning, consolidation, and strategic analysis. Onyx has struck a deal with Starbucks wherein the coffee magnate will use Onyx CRM in its foodservice division. Executive changes... Phil Bounsall has been named executive vice president at Walker Information. He previously served as CFO of Brightpoint. Blackwell Consulting Services, an IT and management consultancy, has named Marlene Young-Peel as the new human resources director. Prior to joining BCS, Young-Peel served as manager of employment and diversity at Exelon Nuclear.