In one of the most notable tech markets of recent years, Salesforce will buy Slack for about $ 27,7 billion.
It's Salesforce's biggest purchase ever, but also a breather for Slack, which faces growing competition from platforms like Microsoft Teams and Google Chat.
In the announcement, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff states:
Together, Salesforce and Slack will shape the future of corporate software and transform the way everyone works in the digital, workplace world. I'm excited to welcome Slack to Salesforce Ohana as soon as the transaction is closed. "
Meanwhile, Slack's CEO Stewart Butterfield added:
"As software plays an increasingly critical role in the performance of any organization, we share a vision for reduced complexity, increased power and flexibility, and ultimately a greater degree of alignment and organizational flexibility. Personally, I think this is the most strategic combination in the history of software and I can't wait to get started. "
With people staying at home during the remote work due to the pandemic cloud tools like Slack and Salesforce have become increasingly important. The companies state that Slack will be “deeply integrated into every Salesforce Cloud” and become “the new interface for Salesforce Customer 360. "
The move will likely help Slack further develop its presence in enterprise markets, an area in which Microsoft Teams has had an advantage due to the wealth of the company's other products. Acquiring Slack allows Salesforce to build a stronger ecosystemsystem software tools and get new customers.
Once the transaction is completed, Slack will become a Salesforce operating unit that will continue to be led by Butterfield. For more on the market, you can read it official announcement.