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Salesforce.com gulps InStranet
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 27 August 2008, 23:56 IST
Mumbai: InStranet, a provider of knowledge management technology for business to consumer (B2C) call centers has been acquired by Salesforce.com, SaaS leader. The acquisition gives Salesforce access to the knowledge base Dimensions technology.
Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO at salesforce.com said, "Not only will it (InStranet) make our service and support offering stronger for our customers and further their success, but it will help catapult our growth in the customer service and support space."
Salesforce is expectant that it can leverage this technology to enable customers and call center agents to solve queries more quickly.
InStranet is based on an open architecture. Its knowledge base dimensions technology adds the customer's context, such as product or geography, to the knowledge base to zero in on the right solution and eliminate irrelevant search results.
Aaron Katz, area VP (corporate sales) of Salesforce.com APAC said that the acquisition present acquisition presents a huge opportunity for the company in India, given the booming BPO industry in the country.
InStranet is headquartered in Chicago, with most of its operations in Paris, France. Salesforce has said that it has plans to fully integrate the InStranet management team and employees. The acquisition closed for approximately $31.5 million, which includes the assumption of $4.2 million in cash on InStranet's balance sheet.