SAP is hoping to boost the capabilities of its Hybris enterprise multichannel e-commerce and product content management software business with the acquisition of Gigya, in a deal reportedly worth around US$350 million.
Based in the United States, Gigya has made a name for itself thanks to its identity management platform, which is aimed at helping companies to build digital relationships with their customers.
Broadly, its platform allows companies to manage customers’ profile, preference, opt-in and consent settings, with customers maintaining control of their data.
With the acquisition, SAP wants its Hybris business to become the “first organisation to offer a cloud-based data platform enabling companies to profile and convert new customers, gather accurate conclusions from disparate consumer engagement sources and collect data for enhanced consumer choices that are in line with regulations”.
“Gigya brings a wealth of skills and expertise that will significantly enhance the SAP Hybris Profile solution and allow us to take leadership of the emerging customer identity and access management market,” said SAP Hybris president and co-founder, Carsten Thoma. “Consumer trust is the main currency to succeed for customer-driven organisations.”
Gigya, which has been an SAP Hybris partner since 2013, has more than 300 employees and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
The company’s operations will become part of the SAP Hybris business unit for customer engagement and commerce.
"This is a vital step for digitalising businesses because companies need to be able to draw accurate conclusions seamlessly across all channels, including web, mobile, in-store or connected devices, and the Internet of Things, as well as collect data about consumer preferences,” Gigya CEO, Patrick Salyer, said.
“Together we are well positioned to drive more effective marketing, sales and service through data, while the customer stays in control of how much data is shared,” he said.
The transaction is expected to close in the final quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory approval.
While the terms of the transaction are not disclosed, media reports have placed the value at around US$350 million.
The deal comes as the German software giant becomes more open, embracing software-as-a-service (SaaS) business models and the public cloud.
Indeed, in May, during the company's annual Sapphire conference in Orlando, Florida, at least four top level SAP executives claimed that public cloud is the future for the company.
"I am a firm believer that the future is public cloud. It is not public cloud for some companies, it is public cloud for everybody, and it is a matter of time," Franck Cohen, SAP president for Europe, Middle East and Africa told Computerworld UK at the time.
