Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Own Company for $1.9BN.
Own Company is a prominent SaaS data backup, management, and recovery solutions provider.
It’s also a close partner of Salesforce, with the CRM giant previously owning ten percent of its shares.
Indeed, Salesforce knows Own Company’s portfolio and team inside out, with the business also a member of AppExchange since 2012.
As such, the move exemplifies its “try before you buy” acquisition strategy.
Recently, Salesforce has pushed that strategy into overdrive, with this its third acquisition in little more than a month, following its moves for Tenyx and PredictSpring.
However, the $1.9BN price tag is much bigger this time around, with this reportedly the largest acquisition Salesforce has made since snapping up Slack in 2020.
Three years ago, Salesforce would have likely paid much more for the company when it boasted a valuation of $3.35BN.
Nevertheless, Steve Fisher, President and GM of the Salesforce Einstein 1 Platform and Unified Data Services, has high hopes for the role that the technology can play within the business.
“Data security has never been more critical, and Own’s proven expertise and products will enhance our ability to offer robust data protection and management solutions to our customers,” he said.
This proposed transaction underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers’ most valuable data and navigate the shifting landscape of data security and compliance.
What Makes Own Company Standout?
For a succinct answer to this question, look no further than its tagline: “It’s their platform; it’s your data. Own it!”
A simple sentiment, perhaps, but powerful for the many businesses disillusioned with SaaS software.
After all, while cloud technology promised to release companies from the restraints of on-premise software, some feel it has put new shackles on their transformation plans.
Indeed, in moving to the cloud, such companies gave tech providers ownership of their data and knowledge and are now running their business operations “their way”.
As a result, when they wish to drive original innovation via accessing their own data, running analytics, or maybe even switching to another provider, it’s not always as easy as they first imagined.
Therefore, in many cases, the cloud applications that once promised to push businesses forward are now – ironically – holding them back.
That’s where Own Company strives to make a difference. It aspires to give organizations ownership of what’s rightfully their own: their data.
In unlocking data from various cloud platforms, customer experience teams can innovate on their own terms and fulfill the original promise of SaaS.
That’s the objective of its technology, and Sam Gutmann, CEO of Own Company, believes that it will work wonders within the Salesforce ecosystem.
“We’re excited to join forces with Salesforce, a company that shares our commitment to data resilience and security,” he said.
As digital transformation accelerates, our mission has expanded from preventing data loss in the cloud to helping customers protect their data, unlock business insights, and accelerate AI-driven innovation.
“Together with Salesforce, we’ll deliver even greater value for our customers by driving innovation, securing data, and ensuring compliance in the world’s most complex and highly regulated industries.”
What Will Salesforce Do with Own Company?
With the acquisition, Salesforce will bolster its Platform Data Security, Privacy, and Compliance products. Those include applications like Salesforce Backup, Shield, and Data Mask, which have a natural alignment with Own Company’s portfolio.
This year, bolstering these tools and Salesforce Data Cloud has proven a priority for the CRM juggernaut since its rumored acquisition of Informatica fell to the wayside in March.
Yet, thinking further ahead, the ability to ensure compliance in highly regulated industries is perhaps critical, as Gutmann suggested.
After all, with the Salesforce Agentforce platform’s release coming up at Dreamforce later this month, that industry focus will come to the fore.
The connection may not initially be obvious, as Agentforce promises to allow various customer-facing teams to build bots that perform tasks autonomously across the Salesforce ecosystem.
Yet, in teasing the platform, Benioff also noted that he envisions a future of sector-specific bots, hinting that industry-focused innovation is the next frontier for the company.
In this sense, Own Company will play a role in a broader vision once its acquisition closes, which will likely happen before the fiscal year’s end.
