Advancements

Salesforce Acquisitions: Salesforce’s Acquisition strategy has always been driven by customer success, a consistent core value of the company. Since its founding, Salesforce’s mission to provide customers and stakeholders with new avenues to greater success has fueled continuous innovation. Here are some key Salesforce Acquisitions over the years that have strengthened Salesforce’s capabilities and reinforced its commitment to customer success. 2008: ·        InStranet: August 4, 2008: Salesforce completed its acquisition of InStranet for $31.5 million. InStranet, founded in 1999 by Alexandre Dayon and Jean-Noel Grandval, specialized in multi-channel knowledge applications for automating content and knowledge delivery. Its flagship product, Dimensions, used multidimensional data cubes to categorize customer information, helping contact centers and self-service portals provide faster, more relevant responses. InStranet’s acquisition aimed to improve customer service and support by integrating its technology into Salesforce’s CRM. After the acquisition, InStranet’s software was rebranded as Salesforce Knowledge Base, offered as a service, and continued supporting existing on-premises installations. As of now, InStranet is fully integrated into Salesforce and no longer operates as a separate entity. 2011: ·        Heroku: January 3, 2011: Salesforce completed its acquisition of Heroku for $212 million. Heroku, founded in 2007 by James Lindenbaum, Adam Wiggins, and Orion Henry, is a cloud platform as a service (PaaS) that enables developers to build, run, and scale applications using various programming languages, including Node.js, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, Go, Scala, and Clojure. Heroku’s acquisition aimed to expand cloud application development by integrating its platform into Salesforce’s ecosystem. After the acquisition, Heroku continued operating as a standalone service while enhancing Salesforce’s capabilities in app deployment, scalability, and developer productivity. As of now, Heroku continues to operate as a subsidiary of Salesforce, offering a fully managed platform that simplifies application deployment and scaling. ·        Radian6: May 2, 2011: Salesforce completed its acquisition of Radian6 for $326 million. Radian6, founded in 2006 by Marcel LeBrun, Chris Newton, and Chris Ramsey, was a leader in social media listening, providing businesses with insights into customer conversations across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and forums. Its platform enabled brands to track, analyze, and engage in real-time social media interactions. Radian6’s acquisition aimed to strengthen Salesforce’s social CRM strategy, allowing businesses to integrate social media insights into customer engagement and support. Following the acquisition, Radian6 became a core component of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, helping brands monitor online sentiment and improve customer relationships. As of now, Radian6 is fully integrated into Salesforce Marketing Cloud and no longer operates as a separate entity. 2012: ·        Buddy Media: August 13, 2012: Salesforce completed its acquisition of Buddy Media for $689 million. Buddy Media, founded in 2007 by Michael Lazerow, Kass Lazerow, Jeff Ragovin, and Joe Ciarallo, was a social media marketing platform that helped brands manage and optimize their presence on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Its platform enabled businesses to create, publish, and analyze content while engaging with audiences effectively. Buddy Media’s acquisition aimed to enhance Salesforce Marketing Cloud by providing a complete solution for social media marketing, complementing the capabilities of Radian6. Following the acquisition, Buddy Media’s features were integrated into Salesforce Marketing Cloud, strengthening social marketing automation and content management. As of now, Buddy Media is fully integrated into Salesforce Marketing Cloud and no longer operates as a separate entity. 2013: ·        ExactTarget: July 12, 2013: Salesforce completed its acquisition of ExactTarget for $2.5 billion. ExactTarget, founded in 2000 by Scott Dorsey, Chris Baggott, and Peter McCormick, was a leading provider of email marketing, automation, and digital marketing solutions. Its platform enabled businesses to create, personalize, and automate marketing campaigns across email, mobile, social media, and web channels. ExactTarget’s acquisition aimed to strengthen Salesforce Marketing Cloud, providing a robust platform for multi-channel marketing automation. Following the acquisition, ExactTarget became the foundation of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, integrating capabilities from Radian6 and Buddy Media to deliver a comprehensive digital marketing solution. As of now, ExactTarget is fully integrated into Salesforce Marketing Cloud and no longer operates as a separate entity. 2016: ·        SteelBrick: February 1, 2016: Salesforce completed its acquisition of SteelBrick for $360 million. SteelBrick, founded in 2009 by Max Rudman, was a Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software provider that helped businesses automate quoting, pricing, and billing processes. Its cloud-based solution enabled sales teams to quickly generate accurate quotes, streamline approvals, and close deals faster. SteelBrick’s acquisition aimed to strengthen Salesforce’s sales automation tools, leading to the launch of Salesforce CPQ & Billing. Following the acquisition, SteelBrick was rebranded as Salesforce CPQ, becoming a core part of Sales Cloud to help businesses improve pricing accuracy and revenue management. As of now, SteelBrick is fully integrated into Salesforce and no longer operates as a separate entity. ·        Metamind: April 1, 2016: Salesforce completed its acquisition of Metamind for an undisclosed amount. MetaMind, founded in 2014 by Richard Socher, was an AI and deep learning startup focused on natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and predictive analytics. Its technology helped businesses automate tasks like sentiment analysis, image recognition, and customer support automation. MetaMind’s acquisition aimed to strengthen Salesforce’s AI strategy, becoming a key part of Salesforce Einstein, the company’s AI-powered analytics and automation platform. Following the acquisition, MetaMind’s technology was integrated into Salesforce Einstein, powering AI-driven insights across Salesforce products. As of now, MetaMind is fully integrated into Salesforce and no longer operates as a separate entity. ·        Demandware: July 11, 2016: Salesforce completed its acquisition of Demandware for $2.8 billion. Demandware, founded in 2004 by Stephan Schambach, was a cloud-based e-commerce platform that enabled businesses to build and manage online stores. It provided retailers with tools for product management, order processing, personalization, and omnichannel shopping experiences. Demandware’s acquisition aimed to strengthen Salesforce’s presence in digital commerce, leading to the launch of Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Following the acquisition, Demandware’s technology became the foundation of Commerce Cloud, enabling businesses to deliver seamless shopping experiences across web, mobile, social, and in-store channels. As of now,

The History of Salesforce: Here’s The History of Salesforce, including newsworthy highlights and a timeline of milestones: 1999: ·        Salesforce started its journey in February with a clear vision of becoming “A World-Class Internet Company for Sales Force Automation.” ·        Salesforce was incorporated on March 8, and Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Frank Dominguez, and Dave Moellenhoff began developing its first CRM version. They operated from a rented one-bedroom apartment at 1449 Montgomery Street in San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill. ·        By the end of its first year, the company had expanded to 40 employees and occupied an 8,000-square-foot office at the Rincon Center. 2000: ·        Like many other tech companies, Salesforce encountered difficulties due to the dot-com bubble burst, leading to layoffs of 20% of its workforce. ·        On February 7, Salesforce officially launched an event themed “The End of Software” at the Regency Theater in San Francisco, featuring 1,500 attendees and a concert by The B-52s. ·        In March, Salesforce received its first major press coverage in The Wall Street Journal when it hired actors to stage a mock protest outside a Siebel Systems conference. The “protestors” carried signs with anti-software messages to drive home Salesforce’s “The End of Software” marketing tagline. ·        Salesforce.org launches the 1-1-1 model, leveraging its technology, people, and resources to improve communities worldwide. ·        In November, the expanding business relocates from the Rincon Center to a larger space at One Market Street. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2001 was approximately $5.4 million. 2001: ·        In April, Salesforce declared its entry into the global marketplace by setting up headquarters in Dublin and Tokyo. ·        In November, Benioff is named Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2002 was approximately $22.4 million. 2002: ·        By year-end, Salesforce had 5,740 customers and 70,000 users across 107 countries, using the service in multiple currencies and eight languages.  ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2003 was approximately $51 million. 2003: ·        Salesforce held its first annual Dreamforce conference at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. ·        Salesforce established a worldwide presence by opening offices in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Spain, and the U.K. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2004 was approximately $100 million. 2004: ·        Salesforce successfully completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on June 23, raising $110 million at $11 per share. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2005 was approximately $176 million. 2005: ·        In September, Salesforce introduced its AppExchange service, which was designed to offer a platform to third-party developer to develop their applications and provide those applications to Salesforce customers. ·        By the end of the year, the company’s customer base reaches 20,500 globally, with almost 400,000 unique users.  ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2006 was approximately $309.98 million. 2006: ·        Salesforce’s mobile journey begins with the acquisition of the wireless technology startup Sendia and the original Salesforce mobile app, AppExchange Mobile.  ·        The AppExchange ecosystem grows into a vibrant marketplace with 575 apps from 250 independent software vendors. ·        The Power of Us partner program launches, connecting Salesforce’s partners with the 1-1-1 philanthropy model. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2007 was approximately $497 million. 2007: ·        IdeaExchange (now Trailblazer Community) launched, inviting customers to contribute new feature ideas for future releases. ·        The AppExchange community had 450 independent software vendor partners. ·        Salesforce reported revenue of $748.7 million for FY 2008. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2008 was approximately $748.7 million. 2008: ·        Forbes recognized Salesforce as one of the fastest-growing technology companies globally. ·        Force.com is released, making it easier for customers to build and install apps on Salesforce’s architecture. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2009 was approximately $1 billion. 2009: ·        Salesforce launched Service Cloud, bringing customer service and support automation features to the market. ·        Salesforce.org gave $14 million in grants to support nonprofits. ·        Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff published Behind the Cloud, a memoir about the company’s early days and its growth to $1 billion in annual revenues. ·        Salesforce has expanded its global customer base to 72,000 clients. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2010 was approximately $1.3 billion. 2010: ·        Fortune magazine ranked Salesforce fourth on its list of the world’s fastest-growing companies. ·        Salesforce concluded the fiscal year with over 92,000 customers and 5,000 employees. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2011 was approximately $1.66 billion. 2011: ·        Salesforce launched Chatter as a social collaboration service for the enterprise. In its first year, more than 80,000 customers adopted Chatter. ·        Forbes named Salesforce one of “The 50 Companies of Tomorrow,” recognizing its innovation. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2012 was approximately $2.27 billion. 2012: ·        Gartner ranked Salesforce #1 in CRM. ·        Forbes selected Salesforce as the world’s most innovative company for the second consecutive year. ·        The company crossed a threshold with more than 100,000 customers. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2013 was approximately $3 billion. 2013: ·        Salesforce completed its largest acquisition to date with ExactTarget, allowing it to supercharge the power of Marketing Cloud.  ·        The Salesforce1 Platform launched, empowering customers to run their business from their phones.   ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2014 was approximately $4 billion. 2014: ·        Salesforce launched Trailhead, empowering anyone, regardless of education level, to develop the skills needed for tech jobs. ·        Salesforce has more than 150,000 customers and 16,000 employees. ·        Salesforce’s revenue for FY 2015 was approximately $5 billion.