SAP to acquire marketing firm Emarsys to bolster its customer experience unit

Enterprise software giant SAP said Thursday that it plans to acquire Emarsys, makers of a cloud-based marketing platform and customer engagement technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Emarsys' platform is designed to help companies deliver personalized customer interactions across channels, including email, mobile, social, SMS and the web.

SAP said Emarsys' operations will become part of its Customer Experience business unit, which is anchored by the Qualtrics platform. Acquired by SAP for $8 billion in 2018, Qualtrics is a key cog in SAP's cloud growth strategy as it aims to meld customer data with operational data. 

With Emarsys added to the mix, SAP chief executive Christian Klein said the company will "deliver a portfolio for a 'commerce anywhere' strategy allowing for hyperpersonalized digital commerce experiences across all channels at any time." The aim is to better integrate front-office data with back-office capabilities and individual customer feedback.

"Adding the Emarsys customer engagement platform to our leading SAP S/4HANA and Experience Management technology from SAP and Qualtrics opens up new possibilities for our customers that are unique in the market," Klein said in a prepared statement. "Once the transaction closes, SAP will enable brands to connect every part of their business to the customer, including experience data."

SAP expects the deal to close in its fiscal fourth quarter 2020.

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