Oracle executives sought to allay customer concerns on Tuesday over its product road map, saying it won’t force them off older products brought into its arms after its buying spree of CRM vendors.Oracle previously said it will indefinitely offer three levels of support for products from its multibillion-dollar acquisitions of Siebel Systems and PeopleSoft. “We committed to protect your investment,” said Loic le Guisquet, senior vice president of CRM for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Oracle is moving ahead with product releases, such as Siebel’s version 8 line, PeopleSoft version 9 and Oracle CRM version 12, and those products will retain their own pricing. The company says it has 5 million “live” end users of its CRM products. “All of the product lines are going to go on developing,” le Guisquet said. “Be assured about that.”Oracle, which seeks to challenge SAP with the acquisitions to round out a total CRM product line, up to now has been reticent to discuss how the product lines will be integrated and how customers will be affected. But on Tuesday, Oracle outlined its vision for Fusion, its plan for product integration expected for delivery by 2008. The long-term integration is of crucial importance for enterprises, which make enormous investments in complicated software products.Fusion will be prominently based on Siebel on-demand and on-premise CRM products. Oracle said it will combine the functionality and design from its E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft CRM and JD Edwards CRM.Oracle envisions helping users better track customer preferences and buying patterns, and offer better responses at the right times. Customer expectations for how they should be remembered and rewarded by companies are getting higher, le Guisquet said.Companies running efficient loyalty programs have seen up to 100 percent more growth in business, an important part of CRM, le Guisquet said.The Oracle and Siebel development teams will use open standards and service-oriented architecture, using standards such as business process execution language and XML. In moving to Fusion, Oracle believes the advantages of future products will be a natural draw for customers, allowing them to make decisions at their own pace.“The first question I always get is, ‘What do I need to be on to protect myself from Fusion?’ ” said Stephen Fearon, leader of Oracle’s CRM Solutions sales. “We know there’s a lot of fear out there with customers.” -Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service (London Bureau)Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe