This has given start-ups the chance to scale up. The reach of the internet has turned what were previously small software niches into sizeable markets.

In a world of open APIs, or software interfaces, companies can easily tap into specialised services without buying a single bundle of software. New generations of technology are usually characterised by the rise of the former, followed by rounds of consolidation that leave a handful of the latter.įor the last few years, it has almost been possible to believe that SaaS will be different. In the parlance of business software, the deal highlights the perennial tension between “best of breed” products - standalone services that do one thing very well - and complete suites of software which integrate a range of services. This week’s $27.7bn acquisition of workplace messaging company Slack by Salesforce looks like a turning point - and not just because Slack has been emblematic of a wave of start-ups searching for new and more creative ways of working. Salesforce shares rose by almost 1%, to $242.03, after the company announced the deal's completion.The cloud software business - also known as software as a service, or SaaS - may just have reached its moment of reckoning.Department of Justice closed its antitrust probe and gave its approval to the acquisition. The last hurdle to the deal's completion came last week when the U.S.The $27.7 billion deal is the latest in a string of big acquisitions for Salesforce, which includes the company's $15.7 billion all-stock deal for data-analytics company Tableau Software, in 2019, and its $5.7 billion acquisition of application programming interface developer MuleSoft, in 2018. Salesforce originally announced plans to acquire Slack for a combination of cash and stock in December 2020.In a statement announcing the deal's completion, Benioff said that with Slack, Salesforce would 'define the future of enterprise software' by helping businesses create digital headquarters that will improve their employees' ability to work remotely. Salesforce Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff wasn't shy regarding his feelings about bringing Slack into the Salesforce universe.If it hadn't done so already, Salesforce ( CRM +0.8%) officially threw itself into the work-from-anywhere market Wednesday as it officially completed its $27.7 billion acquisition of messaging technology leader Slack Technologies.

Slack technologies salesforce