The OAUG, an independent group based in Atlanta, said late last month that four of the many PeopleSoft user groups have joined it in recent months.
Elizabeth Stephens, chairwoman of one of those groups, PeopleSoft Credit & Accounts Receivable Experts, said linking up with the OAUG was a "no-brainer. We're all part of Oracle now."
Stephens is a senior business analyst at Reed Business Information , which uses the PeopleSoft 8.9 financial application.
Patricia Dues, president of the OAUG, said in a statement yesterday that her organization "is focused on integrating new user groups into the Oracle family."
Dues, a project officer in the Las Vegas city manager's office, said the OAUG continues to reach out to PeopleSoft groups.
At the time Oracle bought PeopleSoft nearly a year ago, PeopleSoft was helping to fund about 170 loosely affiliated user groups. Most of those groups were managed by PeopleSoft's International Customer Advisory Board (ICAB).
The PeopleSoft CRM User Group last month became the latest organization to join the OAUG. Others that have linked up with the OAUG in recent months include the PeopleSoft Healthcare Industry User Group and the PeopleSoft Accounts Payable user group.
Meanwhile, the OAUG in September formed the Oracle Retail Users Group for the customers Oracle inherited when it bought Retek Inc., a maker of software for retailers.
Input into fusion
The OAUG said the moves will give the groups input into the development of Project Fusion, Oracle's effort to create a set of best-of-breed applications based on products from the companies it has acquired.
The 15-year-old OAUG can provide PeopleSoft users with a process for direct communication with Oracle officials on matters such as product development and pricing, said Steven Hughes, the organization's executive director. Though the OAUG is having some success in signing up PeopleSoft user groups, Hughes estimated that there are still some 125 groups that remain independent. They are established on the basis of product, region or industry.
The OAUG isn't the only Oracle user group reaching out to PeopleSoft customers.
The Lexington, Ky.-based Quest International Users Group , which represents users of the J.D. Edwards ERP software now owned by Oracle, announced in June that it would work with ICAB to sign up members.
At the time, ICAB officials made clear that its affiliates were also free to join the OAUG. Some 60 of the groups have so far affiliated with Quest, said John Matelski, a board member.