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IBM acquires Salesforce consultancy firm 7Summits

IBM says the purchase is part of a wider investment strategy in Salesforce services, hybrid cloud, and AI.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

IBM has acquired Salesforce consultancy provider 7Summits to advance the firm's Salesforce, cloud, and AI ambitions. 

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Announced on January 11, IBM said the purchase "is part of a broader IBM investment strategy in services and ecosystem partnerships to enable our clients' digital transformations through hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI)."

Founded in 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based 7Summits is a Salesforce ecosystem company that designs and develops solutions to improve business results including customer relationship management, employee onboarding, engagement, sales, and cost reduction. 

Clients include Harvard University, Mitsubishi Electric, and Tenable. 

7Summits will join IBM Global Business Services' Salesforce arm, which IBM says is facing a "rising client demand" for business transformation services. 

Over the next three years, the tech giant intends to expand hiring, training, and staff certification for Salesforce product development, including Tableau, Mulesoft, and Vlocity -- while also building out solutions that lean upon IBM's existing AI, deep learning, and hybrid cloud offerings. 
 
"7Summits is part of a broader IBM investment strategy in services and ecosystem partnerships to enable our clients' digital transformations through hybrid cloud and AI," said Mark Foster, SVP of IBM Services. "Salesforce plays a critical role in transforming customer, employee and partner lifecycle processes into intelligent workflows that deliver accelerated business outcomes."

In an open letter to customers, 7Summits CEO Paul Stillmank said the acquisition was a moment "more than 12 years in the making," and during this time, the company has expanded from a small office in Milwaukee to "an undisputed leader in delivering intelligent digital experiences that unlock business value."

"Our mission to "enhance people's lives" is about our employees as well," commented Stillmank. "That cultural match with IBM is real and runs very deep."

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