The technology company American cloud software company Salesforce reported that it signed a definitive agreement to buy the Israeli company Own Companya provider of data protection and management solutions for approximately US$1.9 billion to be paid in cash.
This amount will be reduced by the value of the 10% of shares that Salesforce already owns in Own, which sets the total market value of the Israeli firm at US$2.1 billion.
Own developed a platform that protects essential company datapreventing data loss due to human error or cyberattacks. And it enables organizations to ensure the availability, security, and compliance of mission-critical data, while unlocking new ways to gain deeper insights from this data.
This firm has achieved rapid growthIn 2020, when its name was OwnBackup, it was recognized by the organization “Globes” as one of the 10 most promising startups in the sector. In addition, he achieved a specialization in Salesforce products, which led the American technology giant to become a shareholder in 2021.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
An operation driven by artificial intelligence
Own was founded by Israelis Ariel Berkman and Ori Yankelev, and was later joined by American businessman Sam Gutmann as CEO.
Gutmann commented: “We are excited to join Salesforce, a company that shares our commitment to data security and resilience. In a world of accelerated digital transformation, our mission has evolved from preventing data loss in the cloud to helping customers protect data, uncover business insights and accelerating AI-driven innovation“Together, we will deliver greater value to our customers through innovation, data protection and compliance in highly regulated industries.”
For his part, Steve Fisher, president and general manager of Einstein 1 Platform and Unified Data Services, said: “Data security has never been so critical, and Own’s experience and proven products will enhance our ability to deliver robust data protection and management solutions to our customers.”
“This transaction underscores our commitment to Provide secure end-to-end solutions to protect our customers’ most valuable data,” he added.
As a Salesforce AppExchange Partner since 2012 and a Salesforce Ventures portfolio company, Own has grown beyond its initial backup and recovery offerings and now has nearly 7,000 customers safeguarding mission-critical data.
Its Own Data Platform provides data archiving, propagation, security, and analytics capabilities that help customers ensure the availability, compliance, and security of their mission-critical SaaS data. Own also helps organizations leverage their historical data to optimize decision making and gain competitive advantage.
The reinvention of Salesforce and new cloud environments
At the end of July, Salesforce’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $12.6 billion. In August, Salesforce reported second-quarter revenue of $9.33 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion.
The enterprise cloud solutions company reported adjusted earnings of $2.56 per share, beating analysts’ estimates $2.36 per share, according to Benzinga Pro.
In the world of technology, this purchase agreement was taken as a reference for the new directions that this industry has taken since the rise of artificial intelligence.
“This operation marks a point of interest in the company’s reinvention in the era of artificial intelligence. Salesforce was increasingly trying to diversify to expand its market and provide solutions to other corporate cloud environments, such as AWS and Microsoft,” according to technology expert Enrique Dans, author of the book “Everything changes again.”
“A complete shift of the company towards environments increasingly populated by intelligent agents, trained with data from corporate activity, capable not only of predicting situations, but also of generating decisions and implementing them. For all intents and purposes, a redefinition or reinvention that is generally difficult to see in a mature company with well-defined characteristic principlesBut in terms of innovation, without a doubt, lots of fresh air. And that, to us innovation teachers, always sounds good,” Dans concluded.
Source: Ambito
