Deals

Blackbaud Gears Up for Next Enterprise CRM Release
January 20, 2012

This was a big week for the Nasdaq-listed Blackbaud: The company announced its plans to acquire Convio, which offers a fund-raising application for nonprofits, for $275 million. The feature sets of the Convio application and Blackbaud's CRM software for the nonprofit space are complementary, to a large degree. The newly acquired technology will help Blackbaud further develop its user base.

RightNow Buy Gives Oracle Extra Ammo Against Salesforce.com
October 25, 2011

Oracle has scooped up RightNow Technologies for a reported $1.5 billion. The acquisition price is a hefty 20 percent premium over RightNow's closing price last week. The acquisition fills a missing gap in Oracle's cloud-based CRM functionality. The deal also provides an excellent exit strategy for RightNow, especially as competition continues to become more intense, said Nucleus Research Vice President Rebecca Wettemann.

Predictive Analytics Digs Deeper Into CRM
October 24, 2011

Predixion Software has introduced Predixion Insight 2.0, the latest version of its collaborative predictive analytics solution. The new release includes enterprise collaboration features, interactive visualizations and automated workflow capabilities, as well as an on-premises version of its predictive analytics solution.

The Hackers Parade Marches On
June 25, 2011

Many more verses have been added to the ballad of LulzSec lately. The hacker group has partnered with Anonymous for an agenda of world cyberchaos, vowed revenge on other hackers who disrupted an online gaming network -- this is after Lulz itself shot down a couple of other gaming networks -- and flipped off authorities who claimed to have caught one of their members.

Focus Sharpens on Management of Customers' Online Experience
June 24, 2011

Two events in the CRM industry this week are shining a spotlight on a broad and sometimes nebulously defined space. First, Oracle announced its agreement to acquire FatWire, a provider of Web experience management software. Second, Adobe rolled out its Digital Enterprise Platform for Customer Experience Management.

Salesforce.com's Best Shopping Bets
April 08, 2011

Salesforce.com is on a buying binge as it attempts to build on its extraordinary sales momentum and broaden its market penetration within existing customer organizations and among new organizations. Since the end of last year, Salesforce.com has acquired five companies starting with Heroku and Etacts in December, Dimdim in January, Manymoon in February, and Radian6 at the end of March.

Zuora and Salesforce.com: A Good Deal
April 06, 2011

Zuora and Salesforce.com have announced a new offering that highlights the strengths of each company and delivers new functionality to the telecommunications industry. Zuora for the Communications Industry is a solution based on the Force.com platform that handles billing, payments and customer care for telco and related industries' customers. This makes a lot of sense.

SugarCRM, IBM Band Together to Socialize Business in the Cloud
April 05, 2011

In yet another step binding it closer to IBM, SugarCRM has acquired iExtensions, the CRM solution for Lotus Notes. A big part of our business is international," SugarCRM CEO Larry Augustin announced to an audience of analysts and reporters at SugarCon in San Francisco on Monday. "Quite a number of our big customers in Europe are on Notes and need Notes integration."

Salesforce.com Snags Radian6 in Social Media Shopping Spree
March 30, 2011

Salesforce.com has signed an agreement to acquire Radian6 for $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock. Salesforce intends to use Radian6, a platform for social media monitoring, to help its clients track hundreds and millions of conversations on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and other online communities, analyze them, and get real-time results.

Web Marketing's Perfect M&A Storm
March 19, 2011

The proliferation of social media and the real-time Web has created a significant change in the role of today's marketer. The shift from a traditional marketing mix to a predominantly online marketing focus has placed new expectations on marketers to understand website traffic, generate leads online, and demonstrate a return on all marketing investments. Just 10 years ago, websites were static tools akin to an online brochure.

Salesforce.com Adds PaaS Rubies to Its Vault With Heroku Buy
December 08, 2010

Salesforce.com on Wednesday announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Heroku, a cloud application platform. It will pay about $212 million in cash, net of cash acquired. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of January 2011 if everything goes well. Salesforce.com made the announcement at Dreamforce 2010, being held in San Francisco through Thursday.

A Cautious Skeptic's Take on Oracle and ATG
November 10, 2010

One of the more interesting developments of the last week has been the announced acquisition of ATG by Oracle. ATG is one of the leading suppliers of e-commerce solutions, and Oracle liked their stuff well enough to plunk down a cool billion bucks for the logo. I thought it was a good idea at the time, but I am also interested in hedging my bets.

ATG Swept Up in Oracle Spending Spree
November 02, 2010

Oracle announced Tuesday that it will acquire ATG -- a provider of e-commerce applications and platforms -- for $6.00 per share, or approximately $1 billion in cash. Oracle wants to integrate this technology into its CRM, ERP, retail and supply chain lines, as well as its middleware and business intelligence technology.

The State of VC: Lack of Ideas or Lack of Courage?
June 02, 2010

All is not well in venture capital land; at least, it's been a lot better. In April, the National Venture Capital Association, which works with PriceWaterhouseCoopers to develop industry data, reported its numbers for both fund-raising and investment, and it represents a world turned upside down.

SAP Puts Its Money Where Its Mobile Ambitions Are in Sybase Deal
May 13, 2010

SAP has inked a deal to acquire mobile and database software maker Sybase for $5.8 billion in cash -- or $65 per share. That translates into a purchase price that is more than 55 percent over Sybase's trading price before rumors of the deal became public, which was $41.57 per share.

VMforce: App Devs Get a Workshop in the Sky
April 27, 2010

Salesforce.com and VMware jointly announced Tuesday a new platform for enterprise application development in the cloud. They will offer application development as a service in their VMforce venture. "[Information technology] needs to be transformed into and accessed as a service whether it's into the corporate firewall or outside it," said Paul Maritz, CEO and president of VMware.

Pegasystems Embarks on Chordiant Integration Mission
April 26, 2010

Pegasystems will demonstrate examples of simple integration between its BPM applications and the CRM functionality it will inherit from Chordiant at its upcoming trade show. Then, in the May/June time frame, the company will announce a detailed road map for integration of the two applications, according to comments made by Pega CEO Alan Trefler during the company's earnings call.

Pegasystems' Chordiant Buy Not Without Risks
March 16, 2010

Business process management vendor Pegasystems will be acquiring CRM company Chordiant for $161.5 million, or $5 per share. While the deal will clearly provide synergies to both companies, it is also a function of the general consolidation in the CRM and BPM space, Nucleus Research Vice President Rebecca Wettemann told CRM Buyer.

Avaya Steers Toward Fertile Mid-Market
May 27, 2009

Avaya is redoubling its efforts to gain traction in the mid-market, a neglected but potentially very lucrative niche for contact center providers. To that end, Avaya has acquired Agile Software, the company from which it had been OEM-ing its main mid-market solution, Avaya Contact Center Express.

Tech Mahindra Swings In to Snap Up Stake in Scandal-Wracked Satyam
April 13, 2009

The four-month-long process to find a strategic investor for Satyam -- the India-based outsourcer that rattled the global business community with its ex-chairman's confession in January of longstanding accounting fraud -- is apparently over. Venturbay Consultants, a unit of Tech Mahindra, is acquiring 31 percent of Satyam for $351 million, or 302.76 million Satyam shares.