Salesforce, the world’s number 1 customer relationship management organization, has acquired Vlocity for $1.33 billion in an all-cash deal.
It was no surprise for Salesforce to target this startup. Vlocity is an enterprise that builds six industry-specific CRMs on top of Salesforce – media, communications, media and insurance, health, energy and utilities, and government and nonprofits – and Salesforce Ventures was also an investor.
Brent Leary, founder and principal analyst at CRM Essentials, said Salesforce view this as an important target to keep building the business. Leary added Salesforce has been beefing up their abilities to provide industry-specific solutions by cultivating strategic ISV partnerships with companies like and Veeva (which is focused on ). But this move signals the importance of making these industry capabilities more a part of the platform offerings.
Ray Wang, founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research, commented that the Salesforce and Vlocity deal is a great deal. Wang said Vlocity gives Salesforce the industries’ platform they need and keeps Google from buying them.
The Constellation Research founder added this acquisition could generate $10 billion in additional industries revenue growth over the next four years. It was also commented by Wang that Vlocity on its own doesn’t have as big a future without Salesforce and they have to be together. He added Salesforce doesn’t need to buy them and said they could keep building out, but it’s better for them to buy them now.
In a blog post on the Vlocity website, founder and CEO David Schmaier, said Vlocity — this wonderful company that we, as a team, have created, built, and grown into a transformational solution for six of the most important industries in the enterprise — will become part of Salesforce upon the close of the transaction.
The deal will be predicated on regulatory approval and close sometime during Salesforce’s second quarter in fiscal 2021.
