Salesforce will acquire analytics platform Tableau Software in an all-stock deal valued at $15.7 billion.

The purchase, which is expected to close around October 1 during Salesforce’s third quarter, will increase that firm’s FY20 total revenue by $350 million to $400 million, Salesforce estimates.  In addition, it will provide Salesforce with an increased analytics capability and strengthen its Customer 360 offering.

“Tableau helps people see and understand data, and Salesforce helps people engage and understand customers,” states Marc Benioff, co-CEO of Salesforce.

Tableau founders Christian Chabot, Patrick Hanrahan and Christopher Stolte will tender all of their shares. Tableau will operate under its own brand name, and will remain headquartered in Seattle, Washington. CEO Adam Selipsky will continue to lead the company.

Tableau is a self-service analytics platform that allows people with varying skill levels to work with data, according to Salesforce.  Among its 86,000 users are Charles Schwab, Verizon, Schneider Electric, Southwest and Netflix.  The combination of Tableau and Salesforce Einstein, the firm’s AI platform for CRM, will provide clients with an intuitive analytics and visualization platform for every department in a company, Salesforce says.

Another benefit to the companies is that their communities will be combined. Salesforce has over 1.4 million Trailblazers, and the Tableau Community has more than 1 million data enthusiasts.

Source:  Mediapost.com