Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud

    A Microsoft-Salesforce Deal May Be on the Horizon

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    May 7, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Possible Salesforce acquisition

      Microsoft may be ready to dig deep into its war chest to snap up San Francisco-based Salesforce.com, the market-leading cloud customer relationship management (CRM) software provider.

      The Redmond, Wash.-based technology giant is mulling a bid for Salesforce, according to a May 5 report in Bloomberg, potentially setting the stage for a blockbuster acquisition. Salesforce currently has a market cap of nearly $47 billion.

      A deal could potentially result in a major expansion of Microsoft’s corporate cloud customer base.

      During a Feb. 25 earnings call to discuss his company’s fiscal 2015 fourth-quarter results, CEO Marc Benioff said Salesforce is the “fastest software company to reach $5 billion” and is well on its way to surpassing $6 billion. Salesforce is “now the sixth largest software company in the world, the No. 1 cloud computing company in the world,” he said.

      Keith Block, president and vice chairman of Salesforce, noted that sales to enterprise customers had accelerated during fiscal 2015. The company “closed nearly 550 seven- and eight-figure transactions,” approximately 100 more big-ticket transactions than the previous year. “In fact, the number of eight-figure transactions in FY15 increased by 33 percent from a year ago,” he said. “No other cloud computing [company] is closing transactions like these, of this size and this scale and this volume.”

      Microsoft’s interest was piqued after Salesforce was approached by another buyer in April, said the report. When approached by the financial news outfit, SAP denied pursuing a bid and Oracle declined to comment. Sources close to the matter indicated that any possible deal is in its earliest stages, as Microsoft and Salesforce haven’t engaged in acquisition talks, said Bloomberg.

      Salesforce has reportedly retained the services of two investment banks to respond to overtures from other companies. Among the Salesforces options are fielding bids or continuing to go it alone.

      Microsoft and Salesforce are rivals in the growing and increasingly competitive cloud software market. Salesforce specializes in CRM software used by sales organizations and customer service and support providers. Microsoft competes with its own Dynamics Online product along with a wide range of cloud-enabled software offerings.

      Last year, the companies grabbed headlines when they announced a strategic partnership that would link the Windows and Office ecosystem with the Salesforce platform and bring in Microsoft’s SQL Server as the database foundation for ExactTarget, a cloud marketing company acquired by Salesforce in 2013 for $2.5 billion.

      “The simple truth is that we wanted to bring more value to our mutual customers, and be each other’s customers in relevant areas,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during a conference call describing his company’s “coopetitive” strategy at the time. Benioff cited customer demand for Office-Salesforce interoperability as a key driver behind the deal.

      “They want this partnership badly,” said Benioff. “They want to be able to work with Office 365, they want to be able to work with Excel, with Outlook, they want to work with all of Microsoft’s apps, and they want to be able to work with Salesforce.”

      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×