'Digital HQ' emerges from Salesforce's $27.7 billion Slack acquisition
Salesforce has completed its $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack Technologies, referring to the combination of the two companies as creating the "digital HQ for success from anywhere".
The deal was officially announced on December 1, ending speculation the CRM giant was looking to expand its footprint more into collaboration and workflows.
"We couldn't be more excited to have Slack as part of the Salesforce family, combining the #1 CRM and the trailblazing digital platform for the work anywhere world," Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said. "Together we'll define the future of enterprise software, creating the digital HQ that enables every organization to deliver customer and employee success from anywhere."
The addition of Slack is being touted as creating a new world of work.
"Headquarters are no longer on Madison Avenue or Main Street -- they are in the cloud. Every business -- in every industry -- has to optimise for a digital-first customer, employee, and partner experience," a statement from Salesforce reads.
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink and reshape everything about how and where we work. That's exactly what the combination of Salesforce and Slack is all about --creating the business operating system for the new world of work."
Continuing with its messaging from late 2020, the company said the combination of Salesforce and Slack will deliver the "Slack-first Customer 360" that gives companies a single source of truth for their business, and a single platform for connecting employees, customers, and partners with each other and the apps they use every day, "all within their existing workflows".
"The combination of Salesforce and Slack also brings together two of the software industry's most dynamic communities, creating an open and extensive ecosystem that will deliver the next generation of digital-first apps and workflows for business," it adds.
Slack will continue to operate under the Slack brand, and will continue to be led by CEO and co-founder Stewart Butterfield.
"We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink and reshape how and where we work," Butterfield said. "Salesforce and Slack are uniquely positioned to lead this historic shift to a digital-first world. I could not be more excited for what's to come."
Last month, Slack reported a first-quarter net loss of $27.9 million, with revenue of $273.4 million, an increase of 36% year-over-year.
RELATED COVERAGE
Salesforce and Slack: A vision of collaborative sales, service with a dash of Microsoft defense
Salesforce may buy Slack and the deal makes sense on multiple levels, but there's also a heavy dose of Microsoft concern on both sides that color the deal.
Salesforce acquires Slack for $27.7 billion in its largest acquisition ever: Here's the plan
The acquisition sets up a showdown with Microsoft and its Teams platform over the future of collaboration and digital work. The grand plan is to combine Slack Connect and Salesforce Customer 360.
Salesforce hopes that moving into this space will significantly extend the reach of its CRM.