Salesforce-MuleSoft Deal: The Dynamic Shift in Marketing Cloud Equation

Salesforce Signed a Definitive Agreement to Acquire MuleSoft for $6.5 Billion Last Month

Last month, 20 March to be precise, global martech leader Salesforce announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire MuleSoft for $6.5 billion. MuleSoft generates software to associate different types of enterprise data on it. Salesforce is a cloud computing company with a market capitalization above $90 billion. At the time of this news, Salesforce had said that the acquisition “represents a 36% premium over MuleSoft’s closing share price”.

MuleSoft’s technology offers to unify multiple integrations of data, business apps and IT infrastructure to a single system. Their customers leverage this platform for disparate devices and software. The acquisition comes after a year of MuleSoft going public in 2017 after it was unable to increase sales and minimize losses. Before they went public, MuleSoft received funding from Salesforce Ventures. MuleSoft’s customers include corporate giants like Coca-Cola, Barclays, Audi, and Accenture.

Also Read: Salesforce Integration Cloud Arrives to Build Connected Customer Experiences

This business transaction was unanimously approved by the respective boards of both MuleSoft and Salesforce. This venture is apparently known to be the most expensive and largest acquisition known in history.

Mark Benioff, CEO of Salesforce said, “Every digital transformation starts and ends with the customer. Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will enable customers to connect all the information throughout their enterprise across all public and private clouds and data sources- radically enhancing innovation. I am thrilled to welcome MuleSoft to the Salesforce Ohana.”

On the day his firm went public, MuleSoft CEO Greg Schott had mentioned how he had always admired Salesforce for popularizing sales and customer management software and turning what used to be an obscure tech product into a multi-billion dollar business that’s expanded into other areas.

Figures suggest that Salesforce has been a serial acquirer,  with 39 firms acquired since 1998. Salesforce has been trying to widen its reach by enhancing its product suite to take on sales software companies which specialize in other products.

Salesforce will host an exchange program to acquire all of MuleSoft’s outstanding shares. 31 July 2019 is expected to be the closing date of the Salesforce-Mulesoft transaction. Salesforce and MuleSoft expect to invest $4billion each to create a common ‘integration cloud’. This move would pitch forward major computing apps and databases from the web, for their customers. Salesforce’s Platform as A Service (PaaS) portfolio would also be bolstered by the MuleSoft acquisition.

Also Read: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Invests In Mobile Identity Start-up Averon

How Will This Acquisition Change Marketing Cloud Equations?

Salesforce acquiring MuleSoft is beneficial since MuleSoft’s technology could be embedded with Salesforce’s Integration Cloud. This service would let customers easily absorb corporate data wherever it is stored.

MuleSoft will power Salesforce’s Integration cloud. It will represent data to provide intelligent experiences through a 1:1 personalized customer journey.

This deal signals a market shift, but the goal of this acquisition is to accelerate digital transformation and integration of data. This sheds light on growing systems that are connecting, helping tap new revenue streams and expanding into new ecosystems.

Customers will now be able to unlock data across legacy systems, cloud apps and databases to create highly connected information which would be available at every touch point.

MuleSoft complements Salesforce’s enterprise success, by having 1200 customers, 60% of which overlap with Salesforce.

Also Read: Introducing Salesforce Lightning Flow: The Power of CRM Process Automation for Every CX

The numbers of SaaS (Software as a service) applications has grown 30 times to than 150,000 currently, turning the cloud into the ultimate home for data and services. Now, Salesforce will offer convenient sources and easy to implement data integration platforms which will unlock more innovation and give rise to digitally acquired transactions.

This acquisition will lead to more digital transactions on cloud computing software which would drive up prices expensive.

There are many questions to be answered, with respect to how Salesforce would utilize MuleSoft’s customer base and how it could leverage data.

Recommended Read: Interview with Adam Blitzer, EVP And GM Sales Cloud, Salesforce

Like most global marketers, are you thinking too? With more muscle in its stable, what’s next for Salesforce after the Mulesoft’s acquisition?