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Salesforce is to acquire Vlocity, a provider of industry-specific cloud and CRM apps, for $1.33 billion (£1.04bn) in an all-cash deal – amid an action-packed end to the company’s fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The news was tucked away at the very end of Salesforce’s fourth quarter update. The company’s financial results were described as ‘phenomenal’ by CEO Marc Benioff – not co-CEO, more on which shortly – with Q4 revenue up 35% year over year to $4.8bn (£3.7bn), and total fiscal 2020 revenue at $17.1bn on a 29% increase.<\/p>\n
Vlocity’s acquisition by Salesforce – in terms of the acquiring company – should come as little surprise. The Vlocity solution is built natively on the Salesforce platform, with Salesforce Ventures co-leading its most recent funding, a $60 million series C round in March.<\/p>\n
The six primary industries targeted by Vlocity are communications, energy and utilities, government, health, insurance, and media and entertainment, with key customers including T-Mobile, Telus, and Sky. The company placed in the top 25 of the most recent<\/a> Forbes Cloud 100 ranking, as well as just outside the top 50 on the Inc. 5000 Series earlier this month, representing the fastest growing private companies in California.<\/p>\n Writing to customers following the Salesforce acquisition news, Vlocity CEO David Schmaier noted the growth the company had undertaken to this point. “Every organisation, including the world’s largest customer-centric corporations and industries, must digitally transform,” Schmaier wrote. “It is more important than ever for our customers to have products that speak the language of their industries.<\/p>\n “The best customer experiences are industry-specific,” Schmaier added. “Together, our customers, our partners and our employees have accomplished so much. I am thrilled about our future with Salesforce.”<\/p>\n Speaking to investors following the earnings report, Benioff noted that Vlocity was a ‘relatively small transaction’ – not idle words when you’ve previously spent $15.7bn on Tableau<\/a> – but that the time was right to invest. “In our relationship with Vlocity and the way that we originally invested in the company, it created a situation for acquisition that we needed to take advantage of and which is why we have acquired it at a very attractive price, because we have been partners with them from the very beginning,” he said.<\/p>\n Alongside this, it was announced that Keith Block has stepped down as co-CEO of Salesforce, with Benioff carrying on alone. Block will remain an advisor to the CEO, with Benioff leading the tributes to an executive who ‘helped position [Salesforce] as a global leader and… the envy of the industry.’ Gavin Patterson, former BT chief, is joining the company as president and CEO of Salesforce International, based in London.<\/p>\n The Vlocity transaction is expected to close during the second quarter.<\/p>\n Salesforce is to acquire Vlocity, a provider of industry-specific cloud and CRM apps, for $1.33 billion (£1.04bn) in an all-cash deal – amid an action-packed end to the company’s fiscal year.![\"https:\/\/www.cybersecuritycloudexpo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cyber-security-world-series-1.png\"](\"https:\/\/www.cybersecuritycloudexpo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/cyber-security-world-series-1.png\")
<\/span><\/a>Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their experiences and use-cases<\/strong>? Attend the Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series<\/a> with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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