DimDim Video Collaboration Software Company Acquired By Salesforce.com For $31 million
We have known and followed DimDim for a long while now. From it's start at sourceforge.net, where the open source DimDim was hosted to time it became a 60,000 customer strong real-time communication company. But now the open source company has provided a way for founders and late comers to make an attractive exit.
Press Release;
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced it has completed its acquisition of Dimdim for approximately $31 million in cash, net of cash acquired.
Founded in 2007, Dimdim has created critical real-time communication technologies such as presence, messaging and screen sharing. With the acquisition, salesforce.com gains Dimdim's real-time communication technologies, along with a team of world-class developers experienced in building cloud-based collaboration services. Salesforce.com will use the acquisition to bring new real-time communication capabilities to the Chatter collaboration platform, mirroring the proven Facebook model of combining collaboration and communication into an integrated service.Comments on the News"Facebook has fundamentally changed the way we communicate in our personal lives," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. "The acquisition of Dimdim will help salesforce.com deliver to the enterprise the same integrated collaboration and communication experience that made Facebook the world's most popular Internet site.""From our start, Dimdim has focused on enabling real-time communication in the cloud, with no software," said DD Ganguly, CEO, Dimdim. "Salesforce.com gives us the opportunity to apply our expertise and align our vision of real-time, social enterprise software in the cloud – at a scale that wouldn't have been otherwise possible."Bringing the Proven Facebook Model to the EnterpriseSalesforce.com recognizes that a massive shift is under way in the industry, the shift to Cloud 2. The first phase of cloud computing was about leveraging technologies that were low cost, fast and easy to use. Cloud 2 represents the new generation of cloud computing -- one that is inherently social, mobile and real-time.Facebook initiated this transition by training more than half a billion users worldwide on real time collaboration, including feeds and status updates. Today, Facebook has proven the value of integrated collaboration and communication, with services like presence and messaging, which helped fuel user adoption, making it the world's most popular Internet site.Salesforce.com followed a similar path when it introduced the Salesforce Chatter collaboration platform. Today, more than 60,000 customers have deployed Chatter since its release in June -- making it the company's most-popular product. Now with Dimdim, salesforce.com is following Facebook's lead once again. By offering an integrated collaboration and communication platform, the company believes it will drive greater Chatter adoption, increase customer loyalty and differentiate its entire product portfolio.Financial Impact of the Dimdim Acquisition* Q4 FY11: The acquisition is expected to have no material impact to salesforce.com's fiscal fourth quarter revenue. However, the company expects the acquisition to reduce non-GAAP EPS by approximately $0.01 in the quarter ending Jan. 31, 2011.* FY12: The company currently expects no material revenue contribution from the acquisition during its fiscal 2012. The company currently projects the acquisition to reduce non-GAAP EPS by approximately $0.04 to $0.05 in the year ending Jan. 31, 2012.Non-GAAP EPS estimates exclude the impact of the following non-cash items: stock-based compensation, amortization of purchased intangibles, and the tax consequences associated with these items. The financial impact of the acquisition on a GAAP-basis cannot be estimated until the allocation of the purchase price is made following the closing of the acquisition. Salesforce.com currently expects that the reduction of EPS in the quarter ending Jan. 31, 2011 and the year ending Jan. 31, 2012 will be significantly greater on a GAAP basis than a non-GAAP basis.About Dimdim:Dimdim was founded in 2007 by DD Ganguly and Prakash Khot, with a focus on developing enterprise applications on a cloud-based communications platform. Its current offerings allow users to host or attend live online meetings, demos and webinars using just a web browser. Dimdim's investors include Draper Richards and Index Ventures. Dimdim has offices in Lowell, Mass., and Hyderabad, India.About salesforce.comSalesforce.com is the trusted enterprise cloud computing company. Based on salesforce.com's real-time, multitenant architecture, the company's Force.com platform and apps have revolutionized the way companies collaborate and communicate. Salesforce.com's cloud offerings include:
- The Sales Cloud, for sales force automation and contact management
- The Service Cloud, for customer service and support
- The Jigsaw Data Cloud, for ensuring data integrity and quality
- Salesforce Chatter, for social collaboration
- The Force.com platform, for custom application development
- Database.com, the world's first enterprise cloud database
- The AppExchange, the world's leading marketplace for enterprise cloud computing apps
Salesforce.com offers the fastest path to customer success with cloud computing. As of October 31, 2010, salesforce.com manages customer information for approximately 87,200 customers including Allianz Commercial, Dell, Japan Post, Kaiser Permanente, KONE, and SunTrust Banks.Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements may not be currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase salesforce.com applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.
