RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – IBM’s surge of acquisitions being made ahead of the tech giant’s split into two copmpanies is continuing with Tuesday’s announced deal to buy Waeg, a Salesforce focused consulting firm in Europe.
And like so many of the recent deals, this one augments IBM’s intense focuse on cloud computing – especially hybrid which mixes public and privatet offerings for customers.
It’s also the second acquisition IBM has made of Salesforce expeterise, having acquired the US-based Salesforce consultancy 7Summits in January.
Waeg, which operations numerous offices across Europe, will become part of Big Blue later this quarter, pending regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The firm has some 130 so-called “Waegers” in Belgium, France, Denmark, Ireland and elsewhere, according to Reuters.
IBM says Waeg bolsters its attempts to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence offerings with an emphasis on Salesforce. Its cloud efforts are built in large part around Raleigh-based Red Hat, which IBM acquired in 2019 for $34 billion.
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“Salesforce continues to play a critical role in companies’ digital transformations as they adapt to the conditions created by the pandemic. Trust is the new currency of customer and employment engagement, and every touchpoint is an opportunity to personalize the relationship,” said Mark Foster, Senior Vice President for IBM Services and Global Business Services. “Waeg’s strength in Salesforce consulting services will be key to creating intelligent workflows that allow our clients to keep pace with changing customer and employee needs and expectations.”
Salesforce sees the deal as a boost for its own offerings. Noted Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Alliances and Channels, in a statement: “The combination of IBM and Waeg’s Salesforce consulting capabilities and assets will help give customers across Europe the capabilities to create streamlined, automated experiences on the Salesforce platform.”
Wage offers consulting experties on manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, IBM noted.
Other recent IBM acquisitions include Nordcloud, Taos, Expertus and Truqua.
IBM operates one of its largest corporate campuses in RTP, owns Red Hat, and employs thousands of people across North Carolina.
Big Blue plans to spin off its technology services business in coming months.
