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Customer relationship management (CRM) is critical for success in today’s business world. Salesforce is a well-known CRM platform that has been in operation for many years. Salesforce has made many acquisitions over the years in order to broaden its capabilities and offerings.
This article will explore the top 15 Salesforce acquisitions and how they have helped the company become the powerhouse it is today. We will also discuss what these acquisitions mean for the future of Salesforce and the CRM industry.
What is the Definition of a Salesforce Acquisition?
Salesforce was founded in 1999 as a CRM software company. The company offers software solutions that help businesses manage their customer relationships. Acquisitions have been one of the ways Salesforce has grown over the years.
Related read – What is Salesforce?
A Salesforce acquisition is when Salesforce buys another company. One of the most recent being the acquisition of MuleSoft, in particular, has been a game-changer for Salesforce. This acquisition was significant because it brought together two CRM and software-as-a-service (SaaS) leaders.
Top 15 Salesforce Acquisitions
Several acquisitions have been made by Salesforce over the years, including several in the last year alone. Here are 15 of the most notable Salesforce acquisitions.
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1. ExactTarget
ExactTarget was one of Salesforce’s first significant acquisitions. The company was purchased in 2013 for $2.5 billion and was a significant player in the digital marketing space. ExactTarget provided Salesforce with a suite of marketing automation tools that allowed customers to manage their campaigns better and track their results. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the digital marketing space and allowed them to compete with other major players in the industry.
2. Demandware
Demandware was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2016 for $2.8 billion. Demandware was a cloud-based e-commerce platform allowing customers to create and manage their online stores easily. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant foothold in the e-commerce space and allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing its online stores.
3. Mulesoft
Salesforce acquired MuleSoft in 2018 for $6.5 billion. MuleSoft is a software company that provides a platform for integration and application development. The acquisition of MuleSoft was a significant move for Salesforce because it brought together two leaders in the CRM and SaaS industries. MuleSoft’s platform enables Salesforce users to connect their applications and data, which opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the Salesforce platform.
4. Tableau
Tableau was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2019 for $15.7 billion. Tableau was a cloud-based analytics platform that allowed customers to analyze their data and create visualizations quickly. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the analytics space and allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for analyzing their data and creating visualizations.
5. ClickSoftware
ClickSoftware was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2019 for $1.35 billion. ClickSoftware was a cloud-based field service management platform allowing customers to manage their field service operations easily. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the field service management space and allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing its field service operations.
6. Datorama
Datorama was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2018 for $800 million. Datorama was a cloud-based marketing intelligence platform that allowed customers to analyze their marketing data and create insights quickly. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the marketing intelligence space. It allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for analyzing their marketing data and creating insights.
7. Slack
Slack was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2020 for $27.7 billion. Slack is a cloud-based collaboration platform allowing customers to communicate and work efficiently. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the collaboration space and allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for communicating and working together.
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8. Quip
Quip was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2016 for $750 million. Quip was a cloud-based productivity platform allowing customers to efficiently create and manage their documents and projects. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in productivity and allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating and managing their documents and projects.
9. SalesforceIQ
SalesforceIQ was another major acquisition, purchased in 2015 for $390 million. SalesforceIQ was a cloud-based CRM platform allowing customers to manage customer relationships easily. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the CRM space and allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing customer relationships.
10. Heroku
Heroku was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2010 for $212 million. Heroku was a cloud-based platform-as-a-service that allowed customers to deploy and manage their applications quickly. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the platform-as-a-service space. It allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for deploying and managing their applications.
11. Vlocity
Salesforce acquired Vlocity in 2019 for $1.33 billion. Vlocity is a software company that specializes in cloud-based industry solutions. The company offers several applications built on top of the Salesforce platform. These applications help businesses in specific industries, such as healthcare and telecommunications, better manage customer relationships. The acquisition of Vlocity has helped Salesforce to expand its reach into new industries and offer more specialized solutions to its customers.
12. Krux
Krux was another major acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2016 for $700 million. Krux was a cloud-based data management platform that allowed customers to quickly collect, manage, and analyze customer data. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in the data management space. It allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for collecting, managing and analyzing customer data.
13. Buddy Media
Buddy Media was a social media management platform that allowed customers to easily create, manage, and measure their social media campaigns. Salesforce acquired Buddy Media in 2012 for $689 million. This acquisition gave Salesforce a significant boost in social media management. It allowed them to offer customers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating, managing, and measuring their social media campaigns.
14. Radian6
Radian6 was a social media monitoring company acquired by Salesforce in 2011. The company was purchased for $276 million and helped Salesforce better understand the social media landscape. Radian6 allowed Salesforce to track social media conversations and engage with customers on various social media platforms.
15. SendGrid
SendGrid was another acquisition for Salesforce, purchased in 2019 for $2 billion. SendGrid is a cloud-based email delivery platform that allows customers to send and manage their email communications easily. This acquisition boosted Salesforce’s email delivery space significantly and offered customers a comprehensive suite of tools for sending and managing their email communications.
These are just a few of the significant acquisitions that Salesforce has made in recent years. Each of these acquisitions has given Salesforce a substantial boost in a specific area, allowing them to compete with other major players in the industry. As Salesforce continues to grow and expand its reach, we can expect to see even more game-changing acquisitions in the years to come.
What Do Acquisitions Mean for the Future of Salesforce and the CRM Industry?
One of the most exciting things to watch in business is how companies change and grow over time. This is especially true for Salesforce, one of the most innovative and fast-growing companies in recent years.
One of the things that have helped Salesforce to proliferate is its aggressive acquisition strategy. Salesforce has made several significant acquisitions in the last few years, including buying companies like Mulesoft, Tableau, and Slack.
These acquisitions have helped to expand Salesforce’s product offerings and make it a more well-rounded company.
The future growth of Salesforce and the impact of its acquisitions will be fascinating to observe. One of the big questions is how these acquisitions will impact the competitive landscape of the CRM industry.
Salesforce has been one of the leaders in the CRM industry for many years, but a number of other companies are challenging for market share. If Salesforce can continue to integrate its acquisitions well and expand its product offerings, it will likely maintain its position as a leader in the CRM industry.
Benefits of Salesforce Acquisitions
The benefits of Salesforce’s acquisitions are many. Some of them are as follows:
- They have helped the company grow in new and innovative ways. They have also allowed Salesforce to expand its reach into new markets.
- Salesforce’s acquisitions have also had a positive impact on its employees. Many of the employees of the companies that Salesforce has acquired have been able to continue working for Salesforce. This has allowed them to keep their jobs and grow their careers.
- The benefits of Salesforce’s acquisitions extend beyond the company itself. They have also had a positive impact on the economy. By creating new jobs and helping to grow existing businesses, Salesforce has positively contributed to the economy.
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Drawbacks of Salesforce Acquisitions
While Salesforce has had great success with its acquisitions, some drawbacks come with this growth strategy.
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- One issue is that acquiring companies often have very different cultures from Salesforce, leading to tension and conflict.
- Another challenge is that Salesforce has to carefully integrate the acquired company’s products and services into its offerings, which can be difficult and time-consuming.
- Finally, there is always the risk that an acquisition will not pan out as planned and will be a financial drain on the company.
Summing Up
In conclusion, Salesforce has made several acquisitions over the years that have helped it become the powerhouse it is today. The top 15 acquisitions have helped Salesforce expand its capabilities and offerings. These acquisitions have enabled Salesforce to become one of the world’s leading CRM platforms, allowing it to stay ahead of the competition.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is a Salesforce acquisition?
A Salesforce acquisition occurs when Salesforce purchases another company to expand its capabilities and offerings.
2. Why does Salesforce acquire other companies?
Salesforce acquires other companies to enhance its CRM platform, enter new markets, and offer a broader range of services to its customers.
3. What was Salesforce’s first significant acquisition?
One of Salesforce’s first significant acquisitions was ExactTarget in 2013 for $2.5 billion.
4. Which acquisition is considered a game-changer for Salesforce?
The acquisition of MuleSoft in 2018 for $6.5 billion is considered a game-changer as it brought together leaders in CRM and SaaS.
5. How has the acquisition of Tableau impacted Salesforce?
The acquisition of Tableau in 2019 for $15.7 billion enhanced Salesforce’s analytics capabilities, allowing for better data analysis and visualization.
