Last week Google bought analytics startup Looker for $2.6 billion.
This week, Salesforce has followed suit, declaring its own acquisition of Tableau — so that the global CRM juggernaut can expand it’s work in data visualisation and tools to help enterprises make sense of the sea of data that they use and gather.
The acquisition is expected to increase Salesforce’s FY20 total revenue by approximately $350 million to $400 million.
‘Supercharge digital transformation’
Salesforce will hope that with Tableau, it will play an even greater role in driving digital transformation; enabling companies around the world to tap into data across their entire business and surface deeper insights to make smarter decisions, drive intelligent, connected customer experiences and accelerate innovation.
Companies of every size and industry are transforming how they do business in the digital age — customers and data are at the heart of those transformations. This creates an incredible opportunity for Salesforce and Tableau, as IDC projects worldwide spending on technologies and services that will enable digital transformation to reach $1.18 trillion in 2022.
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“We are bringing together the world’s #1 CRM with the #1 analytics platform. Tableau helps people see and understand data, and Salesforce helps people engage and understand customers. It’s truly the best of both worlds for our customers — bringing together two critical platforms that every customer needs to understand their world,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and co-CEO, Salesforce. “I’m thrilled to welcome Adam and his team to Salesforce.”
“Joining forces with Salesforce will enhance our ability to help people everywhere see and understand data,” reiterated Adam Selipsky, president and CEO of Tableau. “As part of the world’s #1 CRM company, Tableau’s intuitive and powerful analytics will enable millions more people to discover actionable insights across their entire organisations. I’m delighted that our companies share very similar cultures and a relentless focus on customer success. I look forward to working together in support of our customers and communities.”
Wider industry insight
What do those outside the Salesforce Tableau family make of this acquisition?
“The strategic acquisition of Tableau by Salesforce will help organisations across virtually any industry derive insights to sell, service and market better, further maximising the value of their Salesforce investments,” said Sreedhar Bhagavatheeswaran, Mindtree’s senior vice president and head of Digital Business.
“The recent announcement regarding the new acquisition of Tableau by Salesforce complements the existing Salesforce Analytics cloud and expands it with industry-leading capabilities,” said Matt Meents, senior vice president and head of Magnet360, Mindtree’s Salesforce practice. “This presents a great opportunity for customers to unlock further business value by drawing insights from data.”
