The San Francisco-based cloud giant Salesforce has reached an agreement to buy Tableau Software Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at $15.7 billion. By acquiring Tableau, which provides easy-to-use tools for data visualization and management, Salesforce has positioned itself as the latest major technology company to play an important role in helping enterprises analyze data, make smarter decisions, drive intelligent, connected customer experiences, and facilitate innovation.
“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,” stated Marc Benioff, chairman and co-CEO, Salesforce. “It’s truly the best of both worlds for our customers – bringing together two critical platforms that every customer needs to understand their world. I’m thrilled to welcome Adam and his team to Salesforce.”
Currently, Tableau has more than 86,000 business customers around the world, including Charles Schwab, Verizon Communications, Schneider Electric, Southwest Airlines and Netflix. Salesforce said that following the completion of this acquisition in October 2019, Tableau will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary and under its own brand, “driving forward a continued focus on its mission, customers and community”. It will also remain headquartered in Seattle, directed by CEO Adam Selipsky, together with others on the current leadership team.
“Joining forces with Salesforce will enhance our ability to help people everywhere see and understand data,” said Selipsky. “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 organizations. 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.”
By taking such a strategic step, Salesforce further expands beyond its fundamental CRM offering and dives deeper into the data visualization sphere. The company is planning to combine Tableau with its AI-powered Einstein automation platform in order to provide “the most intelligent and intuitive analytics and visualization platform for every department and every user at any company.” In addition, Tableau will also be used to boost Salesforce’s Customer 360, a service launched last year to unify cross-channel customer experiences.
