Oracle has been crafting its Fusion suite from pieces of its applications and the PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards software it acquired early this year. Oracle is also expected to incorporate technology gained from other acquisitions -- including Retek Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc. -- in Fusion, which is slated to be completed in 2007.

The recent survey of almost 300 members of the Quest International Users Group found that almost 80 percent of them consider support for the IBM iSeries server, formerly known as the AS/400 line, to be vital for Fusion.

Quest, originally formed by users of J.D. Edwards software, announced the results of the survey last week.

Keeping the iSeries as a platform of choice for Fusion was more important to most respondents than pricing or functionality, Quest officials said. Many users of the former J.D. Edwards World and EnterpriseOne software rely on the iSeries hardware and want the option of keeping it, said Quest President John Matelski. Infrastructure Freedom

Matelski, deputy CIO of the city of Orlando, said the survey data indicated that "most customers do not want to be forced to a new infrastructure and will consider other options if forced to."