PeopleSoft adds collaboration to service automation app

PeopleSoft Inc. has integrated its Enterprise Service Automation (ESA) application with eRoom Technology Inc.'s eRoom "digital workplace" collaboration software, providing distributed teams of ESA workers a place to meet online to detail projects, the companies said Tuesday.

Integration between PeopleSoft's portal application and eRoom also is planned, and similar arrangements may follow for other PeopleSoft applications.

The eRoom digital workplace concept provides teams of workers with a way to collaborate, including having discussions and negotiations on projects.

"A digital workplace is a virtual workplace where a distributed team can come together and do their work," said Mojgan Lefebvre, director of business development at Cambridge, Massachusetts-based eRoom.

PeopleSoft's ESA furnishes project management services for service organizations, such as consulting companies, staffing companies, and internal IT organizations, said Alan Brookbank, director of product strategy for ESA at Pleasanton, California-based PeopleSoft

The eRoom technology provides a mechanism for storing information about projects done in ESA, Brookbank said. "PeopleSoft automates getting the work done, and eRoom stores all of the information about the project," he said.

The companies plan to integrate eRoom with PeopleSoft's portal application later this year. Integration with other PeopleSoft applications, such as supply-chain management and CRM (customer relationship management) platforms, also is being pondered, Brookbank said.

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