Salesforce buys Israeli-founded ClickSoftware for $1.35 Billion

Salesforce announced that it has now agreed to buy privately held field service company ClickSoftware. The size of the deal is expected to be $1.35 Billion in both the stock and cash.

ClickSoftware sells software for managing mobile and field service workers for companies like the Deutsche Telekom AG and Caterpillar Inc. The firm was founded in the year 1997 and based out of Burlington, Massachusetts.

The acquisition would be going to help Salesforce to compete with Microsoft, the most highly valued company. Microsoft acquired the field service software company, FieldOne, in the year 2015.

Recently, Salesforce acquired Tableau for $15.7, one of the biggest acquisition for Salesforce.

Executive Opinion

EVP and GM of Salesforce Service Cloud, Bill Patterson, said, “Delivering exceptional field service is an increasingly important priority for companies across industries with more than 70 percent of customer service leaders making significant investments to transform their mobile workforce,” .“Our acquisition of ClickSoftware will not only accelerate the growth of Service Cloud, but drive further innovation with Field Service Lightning to better meet the needs of our customers. We are thrilled to welcome the ClickSoftware team to Salesforce.”

Mark Cattini, CEO of ClickSoftware said, “Our mission has been clear since the beginning—to be the global leader in field service management and deliver significant value to our customers. Joining Salesforce provides a tremendous opportunity to accelerate this vision”. “As a part of Salesforce, we will be able to innovate faster, enabling our joint customers to deliver even better experiences to their customers. This is an exciting milestone, and I look forward to what we’ll deliver to our respective customers as one company after close.”

More About the ClickSoftware and Salesforce deal

Salesforce already provides tools to keep track of employees heading out to perform maintenance for customers. These tools are part of Field Service Lightning based on Service cloud. ClickSoftware provides tools to intelligently schedule and optimize field service work.

Addition of ClickSoftware will be going to enhance Salesforce Field Service Lightning built on Salesforce Service Cloud, mobile workforce empowerment and internet-connected (IoT) technologies on a single, centralized platform. This acquisition positions Salesforce in leadership position in the field services, the announcement notes.

The acquisition is expected to close at the time of Salesforce fiscal quarter ending 31st of October pending various approvals.