Salesforce aficionados’ ears perked up last week with the acquisition of MuleSoft for $6.5B, and even more so when the fastest-growing software company on the globe announced Integration Cloud, a solution that directly impacts the future of Salesforce in a big way.
Salesforce Acquires MuleSoft
Salesforce and MuleSoft share in a press release “MuleSoft provides one of the world’s leading platforms for building application networks that connect enterprise apps, data and devices, across any cloud and on-premise. More than 1,200 customers, including Coca-Cola, Barclays, Unilever, and Mount Sinai, rely on MuleSoft to change and innovate faster, deliver differentiated customer experiences, and increase operational efficiency.” (See that and learn more about MuleSoft here)
Gartner’s Full Lifecycle API Management and Enterprise iPaaS reports peg MuleSoft as an industry leader, with companies such as Netflix, Target, and Verizon trusting its offerings to extend applications and add further value to data. For MuleSoft, this acquisition serves as a validation of their work in the API space on the heels of a successful IPO early last year, while increasing the adoption and visibility of APIs overall.
Director of the IoT & Connectivity practice at Perficient, Annel Adzem, says, “It’s the largest deal in Salesforce’s 19-year history, so it speaks volumes to the importance of APIs and unlocking data. Salesforce can offer a complete solution to their customers and address integration needs.” (See more about how Salesforce’s MuleSoft Acquisition Underscores The Importance of Integration)
Acquisition to Accelerate Customers’ Digital Transformations
“Every digital transformation starts and ends with the customer,” said Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce. “Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will enable customers to connect all of 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.”
(Photo: CIO Australia)
Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will accelerate customers’ digital transformations, enabling them to unlock data across legacy systems, cloud apps, and devices to make smarter, faster decisions and create highly differentiated, connected customer experiences. (Salesforce)
For now, it’s important to understand that this deal is about using data to fuel the various pieces of the Salesforce platform. Wherever information happens to live (in Salesforce, another cloud application, or some on-prem legacy system), it can be accessed without having to leave Salesforce.
At Perficient, we are partnered with both Salesforce and MuleSoft and our expertise is here for you as you make sense of your API and customer management needs.
Announcing Salesforce Integration Cloud… Almost
In the same announcement, Salesforce shares that “MuleSoft will power the new Salesforce Integration Cloud, bringing enterprise systems the data it needs regardless of where it resides. This aids Salesforce’s goal to continually innovate and drive deep and intelligent customer experiences throughout a personalized 1:1 journey.”
Here’s what we know about Integration Cloud. It includes:
- Integration Platform, which will run on software developed by MuleSoft
- Integration Builder, which allows for a complete picture of a customer across all their enterprise data repositories
- Integration Experiences, designed to help organizations build customized experiences
- Lightning Flow, a new service that is designed to let Salesforce customers build workflows using the customer data in Salesforce CRM
- A dash of Einstein, Salesforce’s catch-all brand for the intelligence layer that underlies the platform
- Trailhead education components
See the Salesforce solution overview of Integration Cloud
The Future of Salesforce
While in reality, it’s too soon to really take advantage of the MuleSoft product set, the company is laying the groundwork for the eventual integration into the Salesforce family with this announcement, which really showcases why Salesforce was so interested in them that they were willing to fork over $6.5 billion.
From a greater market perspective, this acquisition will likely stir up greater competition in the integration market, already valued at $25-30 billion and expected to grow annually by 25% according to figures from the Cleveland Research Company.
What do you think the future of Salesforce will be with the MuleSoft acquisition? Let us know in the comments below.
