Busy First Half of 2016 for Salesforce Integrators

The Salesforce integration market has been incredibly active over the first half of 2016 following a busy 2015 where several Salesforce related consulting deals were announced (Cinovate, CloudSherpas, Cloud62, RedKite and Etherios, among others). The three transactions which have specifically piqued our interest in 2016 include: IBM’s acquisition of Bluewolf, Publicis.Sapient’s acquisition of Vertiba, and Mindtree’s acquisition of Magnet 360. These are interesting because there is a common theme throughout that is pointing to a transformation in the way companies engage and interact with prospects and customers – referred to now as “customer experience.” Many people still don’t understand truly what CX is all about but if you ask us, IBM and Publicis.Sapient seem to have a good idea. With their Salesforce acquisitions, they are bringing together the critical elements of CX – software, services, and data.

• Bluewolf is one of Salesforce’s longest standing implementation and consulting partners with 12 offices and over 500 employees globally. Upon completion of the transaction, Bluewolf will join the existing Interactive Experience (iX) practice of IBM Global Business Services. In IBM’s words, the iX business is a next-generation hybrid consultancy and digital agency dedicated to creating experiences that connect data with design and develop personalized customer experiences that change how companies do business.
• Vertiba is a Gold Salesforce Consulting Partner specializing in the delivery of Salesforce cloud solutions for data-driven marketing, sales, and customer service. In the word’s of Alan Herrick, CEO of Publicis.Sapient, the acquisition of Vertiba strengthens Publicis.Sapient’s ability to help clients reinvent the way they interact with their customers, while at the same time driving the technology and operational change needed to support a highly effective digital enterprise.
• Magnet360 is a Salesforce Platinum Partner that provides creative, marketing and technology consulting services, including CRM implementation, application development, marketing automation and engagement strategy. The acquisition is part of MindTree’s aggressive effort to accelerate its cloud consulting and digital transaction practice.