PeopleSoft does not have critical mass to keep going: Oracle

Phillips told delegates to Oracle's OpenWorld user conference that "PeopleSoft does not have the critical mass to survive in this business, so it's a matter of whether we buy them out or CA buys them two years from now.

"They're much better off with us. Believe me," said Phillips.

The comments come within a week of Oracle putting its case to rest in its lengthy anti-trust trial with the U.S. Justice Department over its US$7.7 billion bid to acquire PeopleSoft.

Phillips claimed PeopleSoft customers will be much better off over the next decade under Oracle and that many of them were beginning to defect from the company before Oracle made its bid.

He also said that the takeover was good for Oracle shareholders insofar as it was "an opportunity to get some more critical mass in the company's applications business".

Andrew Colley travelled to OpenWorld as a guest of Oracle.